Fact-Checking Viral Dawood Ibrahim News Attributed To Pak's Caretaker PM

Internet was abuzz with the news of the death of Dawood Ibrahim in Karachi. The report, circulated widely on various social media platforms, claimed that the fugitive gangster was rushed to hospital after being poisoned. Some users even posted screenshots of what appeared to be the account of Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul Haq Kakar, which mentioned that Dawood had died. But the message turned out to be fake, with several fact-checkers clarifying that it was not the account of Mr Kakar and there is no confirmation about Dawood.

The viral message said, "The Messiah of humanity, dear to every Pakistani heart, our beloved His Excellency Dawood Ibrahim passed away due to poisoned by unknown. He breathed his last in a hospital in Karachi. May Allah grant him the highest position in Jannat. Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un."

But DFRAC, an independent fact-checking website, said in a post on X that the username in the viral screenshot doesn't match the official account of Mr Kakar.

Social media users are sharing a screenshot of a tweet of the Caretaker PM of Pakistan, where he's writing about the death of Dawood Ibrahim.❌
1/3 pic.twitter.com/Y5iBw8cgFD

— DFRAC (@DFRAC_org) December 18, 2023

It further said that the username in the screenshot has and extra k, and that Mr Kakar shared last post on his X account on December 16.

Born in 1955, Dawood lived in Dongri slum area of Mumbai (them Bombay). He left India after the 1993 Mumbai blasts.

On March 12, 1993, Mumbai (then Bombay) was rocked by a series of bomb blasts which killed 257 persons, injured more than 700 persons and destroyed property worth approximately Rs 27 crore. The case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the request of Maharashtra government.

A number of accused persons were convicted in the case including Mustafa Dossa and Abu Salem on June 16, 2017. Wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim allegedly planned the attacks.