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India names 50 most wanted hiding in Pak
The list given to Pak mentions Dawood Ibrahim, 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed & Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi
Ajay Banerjee/TNS

New Delhi, May 11
A virtual blacklist of 50 most wanted terrorists, which includes hijackers, fugitives and even Pakistan army officers, has been handed over by New Delhi to Islamabad. The list has the names of men who have committed acts of terrorism in India in the past 20 years and are hiding in Pakistan or are being sheltered there.

The list was handed over to Pakistan in the last week of March at a meeting of the Home Secretaries. This list will add pressure on Pakistan as its role in sheltering slain Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden stands exposed now.

Notably, the list is not exhaustive by any yardstick. It lists out leaders of the Laskhar-e-Toiba, Khalistani militants, Mumbai attackers, hijackers of Indian Airlines flight IC 814 in 1999, Dawood Ibrahim and his henchmen, and four former Pakistan army officers among others. Of these, 26 are Indians and many among them are involved in the 1993 Bombay blasts or are henchman of Dawood Ibrahim.

Interestingly, the list does not have two critical names : Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Zargar, both of whom were released from a Jammu prison along with Maulana Masood Azhar in 1999 to save the lives of 150 passengers on board the hijacked Indian Airlines plane at Kandahar. Azhar’s name is on the list as the main accused in the Parliament House attack case. A case is pending with the Delhi police since 2004.

26/11 and LeT: The list starts with LeT chief Hafiz Saeed, alias Hafiz Sahib, who routinely spews venom against India. An Interpol red corner notice against him is pending since 2009. He is involved in the Mumbai terror attack case and also in the conspiracy to commit various terrorist acts in India. His LeT comrades Zaki-Ur Rehman Lakhvi and Abu Hamza are on the list. Red corner notices has been issued since 2009 and are wanted for the Mumbai attacks. LeT commander Azam Cheema is wanted for training Indian youth in PoK.

Ex-army officers: Illyas Kashmiri, the rabidly anti-India man tipped to lead the Al-Qaida, has a red corner notice against him. He is involved in the conspiracy to commit various terror acts in India. He is former Special Service Group commando of the Pakistan army and now heads the self-styled 313 ‘brigade’ that is basically the Pakistan Taliban. Other former Pakistan army officers on the list are Major Iqbal, Major Sameer Ali and Sajid Majid, alias Sajid Mir. While Iqbal was the handler for David Coleman Headley, the man who surveyed targets in Mumbai, Ali and Mir are the main backers of terrorists and have planned other attacks.

Indian Airlines IC 814 hijacking case: This has six accused who are wanted for hijacking and also for killing passenger Rupin Katyal. A case is pending with the CBI since 2000. Ibrahim Athar, Azhar Yusuf, Mistri Zahur Ibrahim, alias Bhola, Sayeed Shahid Akhtar, alias Doctor, Shakir Mohammad, alias Ram Gopal Verma and Abdul Rauf.

Bombay blast case 1993: The case pending with the CBI against Dawood Ibrahim, Memon Ibrahim, alias Tiger Memon, Memon Ayub Abdul Razak, Anis Ibrahim Kaskar Shaikh, Anwar Ahmed Haji Jamal, Mohammed Ahmed Dosa and Javed Chikna all involved in the 1993 serial bombing in Mumbai.

Key Dawood gang members wanted in other terrorist cases: Chotta Shakeel, Salim Abdul Gani Gazi, Riyaz Abu Bakar Khatri, Munaf Abdul, Majid Halari, Mohammad Tainur, Khan Bashir Ahmed Ainul Haq Khan, Yakub Khan, Mohammad Shafi Memon, Irfan Ahmed Gulzar, Feroz Abdul Rashid Khan, Ishaq Atta Husain alias Ali Moosa, Sagir Sabir Ali Shaikh, Aftab Batki.

Punjab terrorists: Cases pending with the CBI and the Punjab Police against Wadhawa Singh, chief of the Babbar Khalsa International, for conspiracy to assassinate former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and also for killing Punjab police officers in 1981; Ranjit Singh Neeta for bombing in Jammu; Paramjit Singh Panjwar, former chief of Khalistani Commando Force, and Lakhbir Singh Rode.

Other key figures on the list: Yousuf Salauddin has a CBI case pending since 1998. He is wanted for terrorist acts in India and criminal conspiracy to attack various installations. Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front founder Amanullah Khan. Rashid Abdullah, alias Abu Rehan, involved in 2008 Bangalore blasts. Syed Zabiuddin Jabi, who was involved in 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case. Sufiyan Mufti, prime accused in the Gujarat Home Minister Haren Pandya murder case. Nachan Akmal, Khan Wazhul Kamar and Chaneparambil Mohammed Bashir, all three accused in the 2003 Mulund railway station bombing in Mumbai.