By Manish Chand

New Delhi/Washington, June 2 (IANS) India's persistent efforts to get suspected terror mastermind Dawood Ibrahim extradited from Pakistan should get a boost from US President George Bush's decision to slap sanctions on the underworld don for his collusion in global drug trafficking.

The US Friday slapped sanctions against Dawood and his firm, Dawood Ibrahim Organisation, which operates in India, Pakistan and the UAE, under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act.

Three years earlier, Washington had declared Ibrahim, the man accused of masterminding the multiple blasts in Mumbai in 1993 that killed nearly 300 people, a "specially designated global terrorist" with links to Al-Qaeda.

The US' decision to further cut off Ibrahim's access to American financial system has come as a shot in the arm for India's efforts to expose Pakistan's continuing patronage of terrorists.

Only a couple of days ago, India had handed over a list of 38 most wanted criminals, that included Ibrahim, to Islamabad during the home-secretary level talks in Islamabad. Pakistan had again denied the existence of Ibrahim on its soil.

"We are happy with the US' decision. It would certainly put pressure on Islamabad which has been in denial about Ibrahim's existence on Pakistani soil," a senior official told IANS.

According to Indian intelligence sources, Ibrahim has been living in the Pakistani port city of Karachi for many years. Lately, there have been reports that Islamabad had been turning the heat on Ibrahim under American pressure.

"It is certainly an endorsement of India's position and it will help to exert further pressure on Pakistan to act against Dawood and extradite him to India," Ajai Sahni, an expert on terrorism, told IANS.

Sahni, executive director of Institute for Conflict Management, a think tank dealing with security issues, however, advises that the sanctions will have to be combined with other steps to get the don back from Pakistan.

"But this by itself will not be enough. If the US puts a squeeze on (Pakistan President Pervez) Musharraf, then Pakistan may be forced to act. But the sanctions under the narcotics act in itself will only place constraints on Dawood," Sahni said.

K. Subrahmanyam, strategic expert, is skeptical about the impact of the American law on the Pakistani establishment that sees Ibrahim's alleged presence in Pakistan as a useful tool against India. "If Musharraf can thumb his nose at the US on Osama bin Laden, then do you think he will listen to the US on Dawood Ibrahim?," Subrahmanyam asks.

Besides Ibrahim, Bush imposed curbs on Fahd Jamil Georges of Brazil, Ali Naway of Iran and Mexico's Amezcus Contrearas Organisation was also added to the list.

"This action underscores the president's determination to do everything possible to pursue drug traffickers, undermine their operations, and end the suffering that trade in illicit drugs inflicts on Americans and other people around the world," a statement from the White House in Washington said.