26/11 Mumbai attacks: Trial and related developments

[Vinod2070]

TruthTube. tv 4/5 DISPATCHES ISLAMIC TERROR IN MUMBAI PART 4 OF 5

 

[Vinod2070]

DISPATCHES ISLAMIC TERROR IN MUMBAI PART 5 OF 5 - Video - YouTube

 

[Vinod2070]

Guys, the videos cover in great detail the happenings of the 26/11 attacks. Shows how our neighbors are up to the neck in terror and mindless violence.

I think no peace is possible with such a country. We have to have a repeat of 1971 and make it so small that it never dares cast its malignant eye towards our country.

Many of them accuse others of "dehumanizing" them. Its not the others that do that. Its their actions like these that dehumanize them!

 

[Daredevil]

Already posted here

http://www.defenceforum.in/forum/cu...1-trial-related-developments-8.html#post34414

 

[dave lukins]

I watched the whole sordid episode when it was broadcast by the BBC last week. To call these people, and their 'controllers' in Pakistan human beings, is a step too far. Never have I seen, or heard, such callous, brutal and inhumane excuses for humanity ever to walk this Earth. Mass murderers without a conscience through and through. That 'animal', and I apologise to animals, who was captured, should never walk or breath the air of decent people ever again. Lock him up on his own until he breathes his last.

 

[Vinod2070]

Already posted here

http://www.defenceforum.in/forum/cu...1-trial-related-developments-8.html#post34414

Threads merged. Thanks for pointing out.

The Youtube links are no longer working!

 

[Daredevil]

The above videos clearly show that this is no longer about Kashmir struggle (as almost every Pakistani patronize and support it regarding the terrorism against India). Now it is all about believers versus non-believers (Pious Vs Kafirs). The aim of LeT, JeM, JuD-like terrorist organizations is killing the Kafirs, the means are different but the end goal is same.

 

[Yusuf]

Clear evidence Pakistan planned, launched 26/11: India

NEW DELHI: Slamming Pakistan for the expanding terrorist footprints on its soil, India on Thursday said it had clear evidence that the Mumbai
attack was planned and launched by the western neighbour, and this had strained the peace process.

The Defence Ministry, in its annual report for 2008-09 released here today, said: "The terrorist attack on Mumbai in November 2008 and the clear evidence that the attack was planned and launched by Pakistan have thereafter led to a pause in the (peace) process" between New Delhi and Islamabad.

The 220-page report said the fact that many of the extremist outfits in Pakistan had known record of terrorist attacks against India amounted to a security challenge with serious implications for the country.

"The continuing links of these organisations (terrorists) with organs of the Pakistan State adds greater complexities and dangers to the evolving situation confronting us," it said.

"Strengthening of our security apparatus, both internally and on our frontiers is, therefore, a national priority of the highest order. Pakistan's history of military and quasi-military adventurism underscrore the seriousness of the threat we face," the Defence Ministry added.

It also noted that the year had witnessed a marked rise in terrorist incidents all over Pakistan including capital Islamabad, apart from the previously affected areas of FATA and NWFP.

The Defence Ministry said the unimpeded growth of extremist and terrorist organisations in Pakistan was marked by an increase in ceasefire violations, continued infiltration across the LoC, as also major terrorist attacks.

"All this placed an immense strain on the India-Pakistan Composite Dialogue process," it added.

On Afghanistan, the Defence Ministry said the deteriorating internal security there and the resurgence of Taliban, Al Qaeda and other terror groups since 2006 constituted a threat to stability of the entire South and Central Asian region.

"The terrorist attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul on July 7, 2008, in which five Embassy personnel and a large number of Afghan nationals were killed, demonstrated that India's efforts at reconstruction and development were implacably opposed by these groups," it said.

The report said security in southern and eastern Afghanistan was closely related to developments in the borders with Pakistan, where sanctuaries provided the bases from which these groups operated.

India said the convergence of extremist and terrorist groups in Afghanistan with those operating out of Pakistan, often with the patronage of its State agencies, had consequently contributed immensely to the deterioration of India's external security environment.

Referring to the US-led global war on terror, the Defence Ministry said after a policy review in March 2009, Washington announced a comprehensive new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, emphasising a regional approach.

"In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the US goal is to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda and its safe havens in Pakistan and to prevent their return to Pakistan or Afghanistan," the report said.

On the security situation in Sri Lanka, India said the Lankan Army had succeeded in taking control of areas held by LTTE since the internal strife began.

But, New Delhi was concerned about the humanitarian cost of the conflict and has actively worked to ensure the safety and welfare of the affected civilian population.

"India has advocated a political solution of the conflict and is committed to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, taking into account the interests of all communities, including the Tamil population, within a united Sri Lanka," the report added.

Regarding Nepal, India said a fragile situation there posed challenges to its security, especially in view of the open border between the two countries. "A stable and prosperous Nepal is in India's interest," it added, taking note of the recent political developments after Maoists formed a coalition government last year.

Clear evidence Pakistan planned, launched 26/11: India - India - The Times of India

 

[Pintu]

26/11 plotters to go on trial soon: Pakistan

26/11 plotters to go on trial soon: Pakistan

Press Trust of India, Saturday July 11, 2009, Islamabad

Pakistan's interior minister Rehman Malik shows an information sheet of 26/11 accused during a press
conference in Islamabad on Saturday. (AP)

Pakistan on Saturday said trial of the five accused in the Mumbai attacks would get underway in the next few days and that it has identified 12 more suspects, preparing the ground for next week's meeting in Egypt between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani.

"The first step was the investigation, which we have completed successfully. The second step is trial, which is going to start in the next few days," Interior Ministry Rehman Malik told a news conference after he shared the findings of the probe with India's acting High Commissioner Manpreet Vohra.

Malik said 13 people, including Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist captured in India for the Mumbai attacks, had been declared "proclaimed offenders" by Pakistani authorities. He handed over a dossier on Pakistan's probe and 15 questions seeking more information on the attacks to the Indian side.

Federal Investigation Agency chief Tariq Khosa, who was present at the news conference, said an interim chargesheet had been filed against the five suspects on April 28 and their trial had commenced.

After getting further information from India, investigators had prepared a second and updated chargesheet, he said.

Singh and Gilani are likely to meet on July 16 in Sharm-el-Sheikh on the sidelines of the NAM Summit after Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and his Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir discuss what Islamabad has done to bring to book perpetrators of November 26 attacks and dismantle terror infrastructure.

Khosa said "the further evidence will be placed before the court...We are going to make a real professional effort to get a conviction and that will be the effort of the Pakistan government."

The trial of the five suspects: LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Zarar Shah, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Abu al Qama and Shahid Jamil Riaz is being conducted by an anti-terror court in Rawalpindi.

The trial has been held up due to the non-availability of a judge and Malik indicated proceedings would get underway during the next hearing set for July 18.

Malik said Pakistani investigators had been able to link Lakhvi, a former close aide of LeT founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, to the Mumbai attacks.

"We have linked him with this matter, and we have not just (depended) on the statement of Kasab, we have connected (Lakhvi) with material evidence," he said.

The updated chargesheet accuses Lakhvi of masterminding the attacks while Zarar Shah alias Abdul Wajid has been charged for being a facilitator and using his computer expertise to aid the attackers.

 

[Pintu]

PM seeks Pakistan action against Mumbai attackers- Hindustan Times

PM seeks Pakistan action against Mumbai attackers

Jaideep Sarin, Indo-Asian News Service
On Board Air India One, July 11, 2009

First Published: 21:03 IST(11/7/2009)
Last Updated: 21:06 IST(11/7/2009)

India wants Pakistan to punish those behind the Mumbai terror attack and is looking for a reaffirmation of this when he meets with his counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Egypt next week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.

"I am looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Gilani (in Egypt). I hope that out of that meeting, renewed reaffirmation on part of Pakistan that it will bring perpetrators of the Mumbai massacre to justice and that Pakistan's territory will not be used for such activities. If that is done, we are willing to walk more than half the distance," the prime minister told accompanying media while returning from Italy after attending the G8-G5 summit.

Manmohan Singh and Gilani are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, next week. Manmohan Singh leaves again for France and then Egypt on Monday.

The prime minister acknowledged that there were difficulties with Pakistan on the terror issue.

"But I have not given up hope. Our high commissioner has spoken to the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) chief and their foreign office. We are hopeful that they will move ahead in punishing those behind the Mumbai terror attack," he said.

Asked if India was going soft on Pakistan regarding the Mumbai terror attack November last year, the prime minister said India had to work with neighbours to ensure peace in South Asia.

"I have often said that we can choose our friends but have no choice with regard to neighbours."

He said India, which had been a victim of terrorism for nearly 25 years, has appealed to world leaders at all forums to put pressure on Pakistan to leave terrorism and walk the path of friendship.

 

[Pintu]

26/11 justice: Message behind ISI move- Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times

26/11 justice: Message behind ISI move
12 Jul 2009, 1659 hrs IST, IANS

NEW DELHI: After having indicated that state actors - meaning Pakistan's notorious Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) - could have been behind the Mumbai terror attack in November last year, India is now trying to tackle those who masterminded the attack through the very agency that it held responsible for it.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Saturday that the Indian high commissioner in Pakistan, Sharat Sabharwal, had recently met ISI chief Ahmad Shuja Pasha in this regard.

"Our high commissioner (in Pakistan) has recently spoken to the ISI chief and their foreign office. We are hopeful that they will move ahead in punishing those behind the Mumbai terror attack," the prime minister told media on board Air India One while returning from the G8-G5 summit in Italy's quake-hit town of L'Aquila.

"They have given us some information on what they are doing about the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack. I have not given up hope," Manmohan Singh said.

Pasha is said to have also met other Indian officials in Islamabad recently.

"This is the first time such a meeting has taken place. The DG, ISI, normally does not meet Indian high commissioner or defence attaches in the Indian mission," Satish Chandra, India's former envoy to Pakistan, said.

Chandra was, however, sceptical of the seriousness of Pakistan to punish the Mumbai attackers. "It could be just a trick. It is just to show to India and the international community that Pakistan is serious about punishing the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks, specially ahead of the Sharm-el-Sheikh meeting," Chandra, also a former deputy national security adviser, said.

The fact that the prime minister mentioned the meeting of the ISI chief with Indian defence attaches also shows that the government is looking for an excuse to resume dialogue with Pakistan, Chandra said when asked about the significance of the development.

The meeting with the ISI chief and Pakistan's foreign ministry is being seen by some as back-room diplomacy between India and Pakistan as top officials and leaders from both sides prepare to meet in the Egyptian city of Sharm-el-Shiekh this week on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit.

Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon meets his Pakistani counterpart Salman Basheer July 14 for a review of Islamabad's action against anti-India terrorism directed from its soil.

The foreign secretaries' review will set the stage for the meeting between Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh of India and Yousaf Raza Gilani of Pakistan on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Sharm-el-Sheikh.

Immediately after the Mumbai terror attack November 26 last year, in which more than 170 people were killed, an angry India had sought action and the Pakistan establishment initially even announced that it would send ISI Director General, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha to India to talk about the matter.

However, under pressure from Pakistan's powerful Army establishment, the Pakistan government retracted from its earlier statement of sending the ISI chief to India saying that it had nothing to do with the Mumbai attack which, it said, was done by "non-state actors".

Manmohan Singh has already said that India will measure Pakistan's response on the Mumbai attack at this week's meeting and take further action.

India has stated that it is not yet satisfied with Pakistan's action against those who masterminded the Mumbai attack. The case against Zaki-ur-Rehman Naqvi, whom India accuses to be the mastermind of the Mumbai attack, will come up for hearing before a Pakistani court later this month.

Asked if India was going soft on Pakistan regarding the Mumbai terror attack in November last year, the prime minister that India had to work with neighbours to ensure peace in south Asia.

"I have often said that we can choose our friends but have no choice with regard to neighbours."

He said that India, which has been a victim of terrorism for nearly 25 years, has appealed to world leaders at all forums to put pressure on Pakistan to leave terrorism and walk on the path of friendship.

 

[I-G]

26/11: Police rubbish local terror link

Prafulla Marpakwar, S Ahmed Ali & Kartikeya, TNN 12 July 2009, 12:38am IST


MUMBAI: Crime branch as well as the intelligence bureau investigators, on Saturday, reiterated there is no evidence as yet to show that locals were

involved in the 26/11 terror strike, when ten gunmen held the city to ransom. The 30 Indians who received calls allegedly from the terrorists’ handlers between November 23 and 25 have been given a clean chit by the police who conducted a thorough background check on the individuals and their families.

"All calls received from the Callphonex [a VoIP service provider used by the terrorists] have been probed extensively, but it was found that there was no involvement of any local person," said Rakesh Maria, joint commissioner of police. Their statements were recorded by the police.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, too, endorsed the view expressed by Maria. From the investigations carried out by the crime branch, as well as inputs from other intelligence agencies, it has been confirmed that at no stage, was there any local involvement, said Nikam

"Every call has been checked and verified. All the receivers have been identified. The calls were made by the terrorists to generate activity, and keep the VoIP account alive," said Maria. Otherwise, it would have lapsed.

On the specific details of the VoIP calls, the crime branch found that between November 23 and 25, a total of 41 calls were made across India. Of the 41 calls, 11 numbers were non-existent, and the remaining 30 calls were made to people in Mumbai, New Delhi, Gurgaon, Pune, Amravati, Aurangabad, Sangli, Indore and Bangalore.

The duration of these calls ranged from eight to 41 seconds. On receiving information about the calls made to India, crime branch officials said they set up special teams to track the individuals, their families and conduct background checks. The locals who received the calls were people from various walks of life — doctors, businessmen, housewives, government servants, etc. Most of them claimed to have not even understood what the callers were trying to say. Some calls were made to a post office, and a motor training school.

"We tracked all the individuals, and recorded their statements. We found that these people were not even remotely linked to the terror attack. Their statements have been submitted before the special court," said Maria.

According to the crime branch, the man who set up the VoIP account with the company Callphonex on October 27, 2008, identified himself as Kharak Singh. "As the calls were generated from the VoIP account, the entire information was submitted to the FBI. The US agency gave us a comprehensive list of the calls made across India as well as abroad. All the calls were investigated," a senior home department official reiterated.

However, details of the FBI report cannot be divulged, said Nikam. "It’s all the part of the charge sheet. Observations made by the FBI, too, have been submitted before the court. Once the court takes up technical issues involved in the terror attack, we will discuss the FBI report. In my opinion, to say that locals were involved in the terror attack or that the terrorists had links with locals, will amount to misreading of the charge sheet," Nikam told TOI. He refused to give more details of the investigation saying it was unethical to do so.

In fact, after the terror strike began, no calls were made to any local. Instead, investigators have evidence showing that at the time of the terror strike, the gunmen received 284 calls from their Pakistani handlers. The total duration of the calls is around 995 minutes.

There was no response from home minister Jayant Patil on the controversy. Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan also declined to comment, as the matter is subjudice.

26/11: Police rubbish local terror link - Mumbai - City - NEWS - The Times of India

 

[Yusuf]

Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab was meant to die a 'glorious' death. Shaming the infidels and upholding the spirit of jihad. But a handful of courageous police officers came in his way. They laid down their lives so that he would live to tell a story. A chilling story plotted by Lashkar-e-Toiba's military commander Zaki-ur Rahman Lakhwi at Muridke, LeT's headquarters in Lahore.

As eight of his colleagues-in-terror battled NSG commandos and the Mumbai Police at Nariman House, the Taj and the Oberoi hotels for 60 hours from the night of November 26, 2008, Kasab was recuperating from the bullet wounds he suffered while trying to flee with his 'buddy' Ismail. Though his statements and confession were recorded by investigators, Kasab was thoroughly questioned only later. During one such interrogation session, Kasab admitted that the ten-member team led by Ismail was trained by the Pakistan Marines. This trashes Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's claim of the involvement of just non-state actors in the Mumbai attack and clearly implicates the Pakistan military establishment.

The interrogation report, which was accessed by THE WEEK, has details about the training regime Kasab, a 21-year-old school dropout, and the others underwent in five stages. His references to 'buddy pair', navigation, metal detectors and GPS, noted the interrogators in the report, pointed to the fact that he had adequate military knowledge. Pakistan Marines is a specialised unit of the navy headquartered at Muhammad bin Qasim, a port in Karachi. It carries out designated operations and handles sensitive projects of national importance. THE WEEK had earlier reported (December 21, 2008) that Pakistan naval facilities like PNS Iqbal could have been used to train terrorists.
The confidential report talked about how the LeT top brass selected Kasab and 31 others for training in late 2007 and sent them to Muridke. At Muridke, they were given basic training called Daura-Safa. They were lectured on jihad and shown video clippings on atrocities against Muslims in India. The camp lasted 21 days.

From there they were shifted to another LeT camp in Shaiwai Nala in Muzaffarabad, where they underwent a three-month advanced training to use hand-grenades, rocket launchers, mortars and firearms. They also had extensive lecture sessions on Indian security agencies and their counter-terror operations. This was followed by two months' service in one of the LeT camps, and another stint at Muridke.
Lakhwi then handpicked 16 of the 32 for intensive marine training, but three of them chickened out. According to a top intelligence source, they underwent crash courses in surveillance, reading topographical maps, sniping positions, urban warfare and kidnapping. No wonder the US Terror Alert Response Center has termed the Mumbai attack a commando-style military assault.

So thorough was the training that Kasab successfully evaded pointed queries from the interrogators in the initial stages. He was cool and composed despite injuries to both his hands. The report noted that he was using the al Qaeda tactic of resisting interrogation. Apparently, jihadis embarking on sensitive missions are trained to withstand torture. But sustained questioning cracked his resolve. Kasab said that he was introduced to specialised swimming techniques in a 'built-up' pool. According to sources, he was referring to the combat swimming training done by top naval units like the US Navy SEALs.

The team for Mumbai underwent a series of conditioning drills that introduced them to the life on the high seas. Kasab told interrogators that he and his comrades were taken to the sea briefly in the initial stages of the intensive training programme. The acclimatisation drills continued for two months in two separate instalments. Nautical miles increased in time. And at a later stage they were taught the specialised techniques of marine operations.
Finally, Lakhwi identified 10 men who would form his 'Mumbai team'. They included Ismail alias Abu Umar, Mohammed Azmal alias Abu Mujahid, Abu Ali, Abu Aqasha, Abu Umer, Abu Shoeb, Abdul Rahman (Bada), Abdul Rahman (Chhota) and Kasab. The team was divided into five pairs (Ismail and Kasab were codenamed VTS team after CST's old name, Victoria Terminus). Each buddy pair was given different targets, but each pair knew only what they were supposed to do. They were fed details about how to get down in Mumbai and move about, and were also shown a video film of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. They were briefed to take hostages and call up Lakhwi (whom they used to call Chacha), who would then give them contact numbers of the electronic media, through which they were supposed to make demands including their safe passage.

The operation date was fixed as September 27, but it was changed at the last minute. (Classified documents accessed by THE WEEK show that even as the Joint Anti-Terror Mechanism between India and Pakistan shared details of cross-border terrorism at its meeting on October 24, the Mumbai plan was set in motion with the connivance of the Pakistani military establishment.) The terrorists stayed on in Karachi till October 23 and were imparted additional training in speedboats. They then left for Azizabad, near Karachi. Exactly a month later, in the wee hours of November 23, Lakhwi took them to the seashore, where they boarded a launch. They shifted to a bigger launch some 25 nautical miles into the sea and boarded the vessel al Husseini an hour later. Here Lakhwi took leave, handing each one of them a sack containing eight grenades, 200 rounds of ammunition, two magazines, a pistol, an AK-47 and a mobile phone. Also, each pair was given a GPS.

It is well documented how they hijacked a launch once they entered the Indian waters, took one of the crew as guide and finally reached the Badhwar Park jetty in a dinghy. Ismail killed the guide before boarding the dinghy. They were two hours behind schedule, but nevertheless fanned out to the city to complete their mission. Kasab told the interrogators that he and Ismail took a taxi to CST. They headed straight to the common toilet where they loaded the weapons, and then came out and started firing indiscriminately. Kasab also lobbed a grenade at the crowd.

Their efforts to find a building with a rooftop to hold hostages came to a naught and the duo got out of CST and entered a building without knowing that it was the Cama Hospital. This is where Additional Commissioner S. Date fought them briefly. They escaped from the hospital and entered another lane where they took position behind a bush. Officers Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar followed them there and the terrorists flung a grenade at the police vehicle and started firing. The officers put up a valiant fight before going down. Kasab and Ismail, who suffered bullet injuries, removed the dead bodies from the police vehicle and drove to Marine Drive, looking for an escape route that never came. After the police vehicle broke down, they took a Skoda at gunpoint. With the police in hot pursuit and after Ismail died of injuries, Kasab gave up. He was thrashed by the people before the police finally laid their hands on him.

The confidential report suggested that the terrorists could in all possibility have done a recce of the targets in Mumbai much ahead of 26/11. Senior Research and Analysis Wing officers told THE WEEK that Ismail did the recce with the help of local elements. The terrorists, said the Texas-based think-tank Stratfor, had multiple accesses to the city and also exercised excellent operational security (during hostile surveillance) and discipline in the final phases of the operation.
The transformation of Kasab from a petty criminal to a terrorist is a story in itself. As he himself told the interrogators, he was born in a poor Sunni family in Faridkot in the Punjab province of Pakistan. When he turned 13 his father sent him to live with his elder brother Afzal in Lahore (Kasab has a younger brother and two sisters). Afzal, who did odd jobs, had no means to support the boy and forced him to work as a casual labourer. In end 2005, after a fight with his father at their home in Faridkot, he was thrown out from his brother's home as well. Kasab then stayed at the shrine of Syed Ali Hajveri in Lahore, where young boys who run away from home are accommodated.

Sometime in 2007, a catering service provider employed him for Rs 120 a day. He was uncomfortable with the pay and the work, and along with his friend Muzaffar Lal Khan turned to armed robbery for quick money. That turned out to be quite a productive career and the duo rented an apartment in Bangash Colony, Rawalpindi. In November that year he located a house for robbery, but decided that he needed firearms for the success of the operation. A trip was made to Faridkot, but the weapons remained elusive. They continued to look around and, on December 21, approached the Jamaat-ul-Dawa stalls in Raja Bazar, Rawalpindi, thinking that they would need training to use the firearms they were planning to acquire. They were redirected to the local LeT office, where they were given Rs 200 each and a slip, which would be their ticket to Muridke. The ticket to an 'exalted' life.

The stint at Muridke transformed the vagabond. He became supremely confident and for the first time in his life he felt wanted, belonged. He might have joined LeT for purely selfish reasons, but the fiery speeches of LeT's supreme leader Prof. Hafiz Muhammad Saeed instilled in him the spirit of jihad. The disturbing videos of torture steeled his mind. His worthless life suddenly seemed worth before the Almighty. When he returned to his house during a break, he was treated with great respect. When he went to his mother's place in Okara district just before leaving for Mumbai, he flaunted his 'mujahideen tag' to impress the villagers.

Kasab's quest for glory has now landed him in a cold bulletproof cell in the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where he can't even have fresh air. His failure to end his life or escape has landed his country in a soup, leaving his president fumbling for words in Pakistan's defence. "It is difficult to believe that the Pakistani civilian government was completely unaware of what its navy and the military intelligence apparatus were up to," said a senior intelligence officer. "Since the Marines and the ISI brass were privy to the Mumbai plot it won't be far-fetched to presume that a section of civilian political establishment was kept in the loop."

The Mumbai attack changed India. According to former R&AW chief Vikram Sood, it was an assault on the nation. "The Mumbai attack targeted the young and rising India while the previous strikes were mostly aimed at hitting markets, crowded places and temples-which essentially was Old India," said David Olive, Washington Homeland Security Roundtable moderator, who is also a top homeland security lobbyist.
The Young India was shocked at the audacity of the terrorists but woke up to the threat by increasing surveillance along the coasts and introducing strict security measures in key installations across its cities. While Old Pakistan continued to slip into abyss as the monster it created threatened the very existence of the country.

The Week

 

[Pintu]

Bring 26/11 attackers to justice, PM tells Gilani - India - NEWS - The Times of India

Bring 26/11 attackers to justice, PM tells Gilani
TIMESOFINDIA.COM 16 July 2009, 04:34pm IST

SHARM-EL-SHEIKH (Egypt): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani to ensure that perpetrators of Mumbai attacks are brought to justice.

Gilani, on his part, assured Singh that Pakistan would do everything in its power to bring perpetrators of Mumbai attacks to justice.

A joint statement was also issued after PM-Gilani meeting which said the two countries agree on terror being the biggest threat to the sub-continent.

India and Pakistan also agreed to share real-time, credible and actionable information on any future terror threats.

Singh and Gilani agreed that dialogue is the only way forward. They however also pointed out that terrorism should not be linked to composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.

Singh and Gilani decided to work for creation of an atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence and resolve to eliminate factors that prevent the two countries from realising the full potential in ties.

 

[I-G]

Kasab gifted kurta-pyjama by police officer

Updated on Friday, July 17, 2009, 21:41 IST

Mumbai: An officer of the crime branch, who was part of the investigating team in the 26/11 terror attack case, has gifted a kurta-pyjama to Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the trial court was informed on Friday.

Kasab came to the trial court wearing white kurta and pyjama which prompted the Judge to ask him who had given him the dress.

The judge posed this question because it did not appear to be of Kasab's size.

Kasab blushed but did not give any answer. However, when the judge repeated his query, police officers escorting him said, "Sir, Kadam has given Kasab this dress".

They were referring to Dinesh Kadam, API, unit three, Crime Branch.

Usually, Kasab comes to the court dressed in T-shirt and trousers but sometimes he also wears kurta-pyjama.

Two other accused, Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, who are facing 26/11 terror trial along with Kasab, wear T-shirts and trousers or kurta-pyjama.


Kasab gifted kurta-pyjama by police officer

 

[Daredevil]

Pakistan’s queries an endless exercise: Chidambaram

NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Friday described as an “endless exercise” Pakistan seeking fresh clarifications on the Mumbai terror attack and said this would perhaps be the last time he would be answering them.

“It can’t be an endless exercise. It has to come to an end. It is an endless exercise, very tiresome. I think perhaps this is the last time I will answer Pakistan’s questions on this issue,” he told Times Now.

He was answering questions on Islamabad giving a fresh dossier in which it had sought replies on some new questions relating to the Mumbai attack.

Minor questions

Mr. Chidambaram said these are four minor questions which can be easily answered and he has asked officials to prepare the reply. “We will send the replies,” he said.

He said the material the Indian government had given was enough to secure the conviction of the accused in Pakistan’s courts.

“I am sorry for the prosecutors of Pakistan who think this is not enough to conclude investigations and start prosecution. The material given to Pakistan is enough for any court of law to convict the accused,” he said.

The Home Minister said there had to be some supplementary investigations on Pakistani soil and the accused brought to justice.

Mr. Chidambaram said Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba operative Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi was an accused who could be convicted easily.

“Of course a judge has to be appointed. There has to be a trial and a judgment of conviction. If they do the investigation along with the evidence we have given, the accused can be nailed very easily. But they are nowhere near starting the trial whereas in India we are halfway into Kasab’s trial,” he said.

“It is a very sad commentary on the legal skills of the prosecutors in Pakistan,” he said.

Mr. Chidambaram said it remained India’s position that no non-state actor could launch a terror attack of this scale and magnitude on India without State support. — PTI

 

[I-G]

Lakhvi mastermind of Mumbai attacks: Pak admits in dossier
PTI 19 July 2009, 09:04pm IST


NEW DELHI: Suspecting involvement of locals in 26/11, Pakistan has sought from India the interrogation reports of two terrorists Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin held in connection with the terror attack while giving details of the probe conducted by it.

In the 36-page dossier, that contains some annexures, Pakistan has informed India about the case details of five terrorists, including Lashkar-e-Taiba commander and "mastermind" Zaki-ur Rahman Lakhvi, who have been arrested, sources said.

Besides Lakhvi, the arrested Pakistanis have been identified as Hammad Amin Sadiq, Mazhar Iqbal alias Abu Al Qama, Abdul Wajid alias Zarrar Shah and Shahid Jamil Riaz.

All the five had provided logistic and other kinds of support to the 10 Mumbai attackers, nine of whom were killed during the gunfights with security personnel. Ajmal Amir Kasab, the only surviving terrorist, was arrested.

Lakhvi has been identified as "commander of LeT" and the "mastermind of terrorist attacks on Mumbai", Pakistan has noted, agreeing with India's contention.

Lakhvi mastermind of Mumbai attacks: Pak admits in dossier - India - NEWS - The Times of India

 

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http://www.ptinews.com/news/182139_-LeT-operatives-provided-transport--funds-to-26-11-attackers-

'LeT operatives provided transport, funds to 26/11 attackers'

STAFF WRITER 14:27 HRS IST

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, Jul 19 (PTI) Five LeT operatives arrested in connection with the Mumbai terror strikes, including its operations chief Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, provided transport, accommodation and financial support to the 26/11 attackers, according to an updated supplementary chargesheet filed before a Pakistani anti-terror court.

The second chargesheet against the five men - Lakhvi, Lashkar-e-Toiba's communications expert Zarar Shah, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz and Abu al-Qama - was filed by the Special Investigation Group of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which probed the Mumbai attacks, in a Rawalpindi anti-terror court yesterday.

The chargesheet states the five suspects provided transport, boats, financial aid, accommodation and a computer network to attackers who killed more than 180 people in Mumbai, media reports said.

The FIA also submitted the confessional statement made by Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist arrested for the attacks, to an Indian magistrate.

 

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'Ajmal Kasab is a Pak national' - India - NEWS - The Times of India

'Ajmal Kasab is a Pak national'
Sachin Parashar, TNN 19 July 2009, 02:55am IST

NEW DELHI: With the trial against nine 26/11 accused beginning officially in Pakistan on Saturday, the Indian government would have let out a small sigh of relief as progress of the prosecution's case will have a bearing on how the UPA government justifies delinking of terror with the composite dialogue with Islamabad.

The chargesheet is expected to be filed on July 25 but the 36-page dossier that Pakistan handed to India ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Gilani is understood to have indicated the naming of Lashkar-e-Taiba as the outfit responsible for the Mumbai attacks.

Further the document had named key LeT man Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi as well as Zarar Shah as key conspirators in the attacks and also accepted that apprehended Mumbai attacker Ajmal Kasab was of Pakistani nationality. The committment to proceed against LeT and its masterminds was read to be the basis of India adopting a more accomodative posture during the meeting at Sharm el-Sheikh.

The involvement of LeT and its top leaders like Shah and Lakhvi has been admitted to by Pakistan minister for interior Rehman Malik and it was expected that they would be proceeded against even though Lashkar chief Saeed Hafiz does not seem to be in the line of fire while the terror outfit itself has morphed into "charitable" organisations.

Now how the trial proceeds and the case that Pakistan builds against the accused will be crucial in judging whether the government's gamble of resuming talks with Islamabad and even adding, for the first time in India-Pakistan relations, a reference to Balochistan, have been worth it. It would be key to the government's ability to ward off the sell-off charge that the Opposition has hurled at it.

What will be watched closely is how the Pakistan government follows the leads in the Mumbai case as home minister P Chidambaram has already said he does not think India can provide more information than it has. He has said the evidence given to Pakistan can be substantial for any prosecutor and that Pakistan needs to do some digging of its own. So far, Pakistan's efforts have been limited as its agencies have raided locations in Azizabad, a Karachi neighbourhood, but picked up low-level entities. The nine-member LeT squad had trained in Karachi for close to two months.

Of the nine accused, five are with Pakistan, one with India and the remaining three are fugitives. The five in Pakistan include Lakhvi and Zarar Shah. The dossier, handed over to India on July 11, remains a mixed bag for India. Security expert K Subrahmanyam said that even though a beginning had been made, the two sides have to go quite far.

"One can say Pakistan has moved forward to some extent but the very fact that it has described LeT as a defunct organisation means that India needs to pursue the matter further. That they carried out such an attack proves they are not defunct but very much active,'' Subrahmanyam told TOI noting that the dossier apparently names LeT as a defunct organisation.

On July 11 itself, Rehman Malik had said Pakistan would begin the trial of five accused including Lakhvi and Shah. Before then there were doubts about the status of investigations against the two but these were laid to rest by Malik. This is seen as a step that encouraged India to move ahead with Pakistan.

But thereafter there were twists in the tale that raised doubts about Pakistan's commitment, when the Punjab government withdrew its appeal against the release of Hafiz Saeed, who is named in the chargesheet filed by the Mumbai police and seen as the "fount" for the Mumbai attack. Punjab law minister, Rana Sanaullah Khan, went on record saying that the government in Islamabad did not share evidence against Hafiz.

India brought up Hafiz, who is not named in the Pakistan dossier, at Sharm el-Sheikh but only got an assurance that Pakistan was looking into it. Shah though has been described as the man who handled communications and Lakhvi the main mastermind. There are 13 others who have been declared proclaimed offenders.

Subrahmanyam did not describe the joint statement as a sell-out by India. "One can say the joint statement is not very well drafted or that there are certain ambiguities, but people who are accusing the government of a sell-out are not displaying maturity. After all, Pakistan has acted against Lakhvi and Shah,'' added Subrahmanyam.

In fact, Pakistan had detained Lakhvi and Shah as early as February even though it refrained from officially naming them. They were said to be in ISI custody but were later handed over to the investigators probing the Mumbai attacks. The fact that Pakistan named them on July 11 clearly made the Manmohan Singh government think in terms of "walking the extra mile'' as the PM has been saying for quite some time.

According to the dossier, a man named Hammad Amin Sadiq arranged funds. Another man named Mazhar Iqbal is said to have worked as the main handler. There are other like Abdul Wajid and Shahid Jamil who too have been named for facilitating the attacks.

 

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The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Nation | Reciprocal signals from Pak

Reciprocal signals from Pak

NASIR JAFFRY IN ISLAMABAD AND OUR DELHI BUREAU

Manmohan Singh (left), Yousaf
Raza Gilani


July 18: A Pakistani anti-terrorist court today started “pre-trial” proceedings of the five accused in the Mumbai attacks case, a move being seen as part of the probable guarantees Pakistan had given to India in the run-up to the joint statement that kicked up dust in Parliament yesterday.

“Judge Baqir Ali Rana adjourned the hearing until July 25 after the state filed an application, requesting in-camera proceedings in the case,” Shahbaz Rajput, defence counsel for one of the accused, Hamad Ameen Sadiq, told The Telegraph.

Rajput said he and other three lawyers, Khwaja Sultan, Sardar Tariq and Malik Rafiq representing the other four accused, have sought copies of the documents about the case after the state formally appointed them as defence counsel for the five suspects who were taken into custody by early this year for interrogation.

The accused included Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, a top Lashkar-e-Toiba operative and the alleged mastermind of the attacks and other four facilitators, Sadiq, Mazhar Iqbal, Abdul Wajid and Shahid Jamil.

Sadiq facilitated the funds and hideouts for the Mumbai terror attacks, while Iqbal was the handler, according to Pakistani investigators. Wajid offered computer expertise and Jamil trained crew members of Al-Hussaini, the vessel that took the attackers towards Mumbai.

“I have also filed an application in the court asking to provide us details of the evidence so that we can prepare ourselves for defence,” Rajput said.

The case will be heard in camera at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.

Pakistani law enforcement agencies are chasing at least 13 more accused who have been declared proclaimed offenders for their alleged involvement in the Mumbai attacks.

Pakistani officials expressed dismay at media reports that Islamabad had acknowledged the role of the Lashkar in a dossier handed over to deputy high commissioner Manpreet Vohra last week.

“It is unfair to cast such insinuations at a time Pakistan has begun the trial of the five accused on the basis of evidence sought from India and collected by its own investigators,” a foreign ministry official said.

A PTI report said Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today blamed India for “interference” in Balochistan and “other areas”. Gilani told journalists that the joint statement signed by him and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh “underlines our concerns over India’s interference in Balochistan and other areas of Pakistan”.

Sources in Delhi, however, said Islamabad’s swift decision on the trial was probably part of the assurances given to the Indian side on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Egypt.

The trial may go some way in strengthening Singh’s hands when he faces the Opposition in Parliament on Monday. The BJP walked out of the Lok Sabha on Friday, alleging that de-linking terror and the composite dialogue process meant a “sellout”.

Official sources in Delhi, keen to project the joint statement at Egypt’s Sharm-al-Sheikh as a positive step in the direction of normalising ties, indicated that more “visible steps” were expected from Pakistan in the days to come.

“Following the dossier they have presented to India, we have been assured that follow-up action will be taken,” the sources said. “The resumption of the trial is one among them.”