'Underworld don Dawood Ibrahim visits Pakistan often but not a resident'

File photo of Mafia Don Dawood Ibrahim

Mumbai: Fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim does not live in Pakistan though he reportedly visits the country often, CEO of a leading media group based in Karachi said here on Thursday.

"As far as I know, Dawood Ibrahim is not a resident of Pakistan. I am told he visits Pakistan regularly. I am told he spends time in Dubai and South Africa," Hameed Haroon, CEO of Dawn Media Group, said.

Haroon was responding to a query after a discussion on 'India and Pakistan: How to make the recent breakthrough in bilateral talks irreversible', organised by the Mumbai Press Club and the Observer Research Foundation this evening.

"Dawood is a murderer. The government should move against all murderers," he said, adding that "I think of Dawood as a singularly unpleasant chap. I have never seen him."

Further suggesting that if the governments of the two countries were not doing much to further the bilateral ties, then people and organisations including NGOs should take up the initiative. There has to be a people's movement, as it was during the freedom struggle, to take forward India-Pakistan relations, Haroon added.

"Fishermen have now become symbols of the munificence of India and Pakistan. India releases so many fishermen and Pakistan releases so many fishermen.

"To make fishermen slaves of the security state and our anger isn't right," he said. Both countries should release fishermen, who belong to the poorest sections of society, unilaterally, he said.