India has strongly criticised a United Nations report that described fugitive underworld figure Dawood Ibrahim’s criminal network, D-Company, as an “India-based” group with links to terrorism. New Delhi has called the description factually inaccurate and questioned the accountability of UN-appointed experts.
The objection was raised by Raghoo Puri, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, during a meeting of the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee on Wednesday.
India Flags Factual Inaccuracies
The controversy centres on a report titled Distinguishing Organised Crime from Terrorism to Protect Human Rights, released in July by Ben Saul, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights while countering terrorism.
The report referred to D-Company as an India-based criminal network with terrorist connections. Responding to the description, Puri said the report failed to provide important context about Dawood Ibrahim and his long-standing status as a wanted figure in India.
He argued that the omission presented an incomplete picture of the network’s history and activities.
India Highlights Dawood Ibrahim’s UN Listing
Puri said Dawood Ibrahim and D-Company had been wanted in India in connection with terror attacks since 1993. He pointed to the narrative summary accompanying Dawood’s listing under the UN Security Council’s 1267 sanctions regime.
Dawood was listed by the UN in 2003 over his association with Al-Qaeda. Puri argued that the report should also have acknowledged the earlier cases against him in India.
India Says Dawood Is Based in Pakistan
During his remarks, Puri maintained that Dawood Ibrahim had left India well before the 2003 UN listing and remains a wanted criminal.
Referring to the UN listing, the Indian diplomat said Dawood resides in the same country where Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was found and killed by US forces in 2011. Bin Laden was located in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
India has repeatedly alleged that Dawood is based in Pakistan, while Pakistan has denied harbouring him.
New Delhi Calls for Greater Accountability
India also expressed concern about what it described as factual inaccuracies in reports prepared by UN special mandate holders. Puri said such omissions could undermine confidence in the United Nations and called for high standards of impartiality and accountability.
The dispute highlights continuing differences over how international reports describe organised crime, terrorism and the responsibilities of states in addressing cross-border security concerns.
India’s objection places the accuracy of the report’s description of D-Company at the centre of the debate, while the wider discussion concerns the relationship between organised crime, terrorism and human rights.