Succession battle in D-Company: ISI orchestrates power balance amid Dawood’s ill-health

New Delhi, April 3 Dawood Ibrahim is back in the news following the release of Dhurandhar: The Revenge. Dawood is shown as a bedridden man, and this is contrary to the scores of images that one gets to see in which the 1993 blasts accused is shown as a young man.

For the ISI, Dawood is a massive asset as he controls both the narcotics and fake currency syndicates. While both these businesses are thriving even today, the fact is that the ISI had to step in a couple of years to prevent the syndicate from splitting into two.

An official said that a rift had developed within the syndicate as to who would head it, owing to Dawood’s poor health. Dawood Ibrahim, who largely stays indoors, is not in the best of health, due to which he cannot oversee the business. The ISI and the syndicate have managed to keep Dawood’s health-related issues under wraps for long as they do not want the members to get demoralised.

With Dawood largely out of action, the battle for succession was between his very close aide Chhota Shakeel and the family members comprising his brother, son, wife and son-in-law. The ISI realised that sorting out the succession battle was important as it could not afford a split in the Dawood syndicate. For the ISI, it is about the funds that it gets from this syndicate, which in turn is used entirely to fund terror activities against India.

When Dawood fled India and sought shelter in Pakistan, he had to strike a deal with the Pakistani agencies. The ISI realised that Dawood was desperate for cover and also wanted his narcotics trade to run hassle-free. Almost all the drugs that Dawood smuggles are routed through Pakistan, and the ISI had threatened to block this route.

The deal that was finally struck was that Dawood would cough up 40 per cent of the income that he generated from trading in narcotics and also by circulating fake Indian currency. That arrangement continues to date, and the ISI uses all these funds to run its terror outfits aimed at striking on Indian soil. A split in the syndicate meant that the ISI would not get these funds.

Moreover, a broken syndicate would never have functioned the way it does today. There are four key players in the Dawood syndicate. They are his brother Anees Ibrahim, trusted aide Shakeel, son-in-law Junaid Miandad and son, Mooen Nawaz. Among them, Shakeel is the most important player as he single-handedly oversees operations in India. Losing him meant losing the Indian market.

Moreover, all the players in India look up to Shakeel as their boss. The family, however, insisted someone from them should head the syndicate. The ISI managed to get them together and handed out individual roles. It today runs more as a corporate firm, with Shakeel heading the India operations and Anees looking after the overseas business.

It was also decided that Junaid, who is known for his business acumen, would handle the finances. Dawood’s wife, Mahjabeen, had, however, wanted her son, Moeen, to head the empire. However, he is considered to be too soft and focuses more on religious affairs.

While negotiating the secession plan, several other players in India and other parts of the world were consulted. Each one thought that there should not be one boss, as egos could clash and operations would be hit. It was decided to run the syndicate in the manner which the ISI decided, and the same would continue even after Dawood’s death.

Intelligence Bureau officials say that Dawood has been ill for several years now. He is 70 years old and suffers from severe diabetes and a heart condition. He hardly steps out of his room, and the interaction with the rest of the syndicate members is almost nil.

Another official said that the ISI was really desperate to put the succession issue to rest. Dawood remains the ISI’s biggest fund-generating machine. The same funds were used to run the Indian Mujahideen. Money is also diverted in large numbers to run the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. The ISI, in addition to protection and permission to move drugs, also helps with the logistics and keeping the smuggling routes safe.

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