New Delhi: Declared as international terrorist by the US and wanted by India, Dawood Ibrahim is believed to be undergoing cosmetic surgery in Islamabad to change his looks and is planning to escape to a West Asian nation, official sources said today (Apr 4, 2004).

Dawood, now Iqbal Seth alias Amir Sahib who was so far living in the posh Clifton area of Karachi, has recently shifted to "an ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) safe house in Islamabad" after the US declared him an "international terrorist", the sources said while confirming a report in this regard that appeared in 'South Asia Tribune'.

The don had a few months ago visited South Waziristan on the Pak-Afghan border, the scene of the recent fighting between al-Qaeda/Taliban and US-led coalition and Pakistani forces.

The officials said Dawood had gone there to meet his contacts in Taliban and Lashkar-e-Toiba and extend material support.

Dawood, whose name figures in India's list of 20 wanted terrorists and criminals submitted to Pakistan, has been declared last year a global terrorist by the US Treasury Department which also accused him of having "financially supported Islamic militant groups working against India, such as Lashkar-e-Toiba".

The officials said after the US included his name in List 'C', describing him as an associate of al-Qaeda, he was finding it difficult to get out of Pakistan.

The report in 'South Asia Tribune' said intelligence agencies believe that he was undergoing cosmetic surgery in Islamabad to change his looks and was "planning to leave Pakistan soon and may enter a Gulf State".

Dawood's contacts in ISI included Major Khaliq and Major Akbar "under whose patronage he had been staying in Karachi carrying a Pakistani passport with the name of Sheikh Dawood Hasan," it said.

The sources said that Dawood's associates Chhota Shakeel was now known as Haji Mohammad and Tiger Memon as Ahmed Jamil. All of them are accused in the 1993 Bombay blasts case.

Though Dawood had restricted his international movements, he was a regular visitor to Nepal where he was last seen in August 2003.

During this visit, he met his "front-man Sartaj Ahmed and leaders of some fundamentalist organisations, it said, adding Sartaj was in constant touch with officials of the Pakistan embassy in Kathmandu.