India releases list of 50 ‘most wanted fugitives’

India on Wednesday came out with a list of 50 “most wanted fugitives” hiding in Pakistan. They include underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, 26/11 mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and dreaded terrorist Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi.

The list, which was given to Pakistan at the Home Secretary-level talks in March, has Hafiz Saeed on top, followed by Major Iqbal, a suspected serving Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officer, who also figures in the FBI indictment in a Chicago court in connection with the 2008 Mumbai attack.

The release of the documents comes two days after the government made public the names of five Pakistanis, who figured in the second charge sheet in the Chicago case for having taken a leading part in the Mumbai attack conspiracy.

It also comes in the midst of an acute discomfort for Pakistan over the charge of sheltering al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a U.S. Special Forces operation at Abbottabad.

Interestingly, Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Tuesday that Dawood Ibrahim was not in his country.

The Wednesday list also includes Jaish-e- Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, principal accused in the 2001 Parliament attack case.

He was released in exchange for the hostages in the 1999 Kandahar hijack of Indian Airlines plane.

Another big name in the list is Illyas Kashmiri, accused of transnational crimes and conspiracy to commit various terror acts in India.

Kashmiri figures in speculative reports as the one tipped to become the new al-Qaeda chief.

The others in the list are Dawood's close associates, Memon Ibrahim alias Tiger Memon, Shaikh Shakeel alias Chhota Shakeel, Memon Ayub Abdul Razak, Anis Ibrahim Kaskar Shaikh, Anwar Ahmed Haji Jamal and Mohammed Ahmed Dosa, all involved in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.

Hizb-ul Mujahideen chief Syed Salauddin, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front founder Amanullah Khan, Punjab terrorists Lakhbir Singh, Paramjit Singh Panjwar, Ranjit Singh alias Neeta and Wadhawa Singh were also named as most wanted fugitives.

The names of the Mumbai terror attack case accused Sajid Majid, Major Sameer Ali, Sayed Abdul Rehman alias Pasha and Abu Hamza were included in the list.