The crime syndicate responsible for the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts are enjoying 5-star hospitality in Pakistan and given state protection, Indian envoy at the UN has said, in a veiled reference to the D-company head Dawood Ibrahim.

Speaking at the International Counter Terrorism Conference 2022 organised by the Global Counter Terrorism Council, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador TS Tirumurti said that linkages between terrorism and transnational organised crime must be fully recognised and addressed vigorously.

“We have seen the crime syndicate responsible for the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts not just given state protection but enjoying 5-star hospitality,” he said.

On March 12, 1993, a series of 12 bombings across Bombay city had resulted in 257 fatalities and over 1,400 casualties. Tiger Memon and late Yakub Memon who were reportedly subordinates of Dawood Ibrahim were believed to have orchestrated the single-day blasts under the syndicate D-company. The prosecution accused him of being the mastermind of the blasts.

Tirumurti said that the UN sanctions regimes, including the 1267 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, are pivotal to the international efforts in preventing terror-financing, terrorist-travel and access to arms by the terrorist organisations. He, however, voiced concern that the implementation of these measures remains challenging.

“It is critical that all sanctions regimes established by the Council ensure due process in their working procedures and decision-making. The decision-making process and listing/delisting measures should be objective, swift, credible, evidence based and transparent, and not for political and religious considerations,” the Indian Ambassador said.

The Indian Ambassador, however, expressed concern that the implementation of these measures remains challenging.

“It is critical that all sanctions regimes established by the Council ensure due process in their working procedures and decision-making. The decision-making process and listing/delisting measures should be objective, swift, credible, evidence based and transparent, and not for political and religious considerations,”  he said.

Further, Tirumurti said that Al-Qaida's linkages with UNSC proscribed Pakistan-based terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba  (LeT), responsible for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) continue to strengthen their operations.