Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 28 Jan 2010 22:50

They want those talks. At SeS moving forward with the trials was a non-condition condition.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 29 Jan 2010 09:18

NEW DELHI: Home minister P Chidambaram on Thursday sent out a clear message to Pakistan that it was time that it stopped jihad-whitewashing mock
drills and took firm action against handlers of Mumbai attackers.

A day after Pakistani investigators named Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi as mastermind, the home minister said that unless Pakistan brings to book other masterminds, India will have to conclude that the neighbour is dragging its feet. “Lakhvi is one of the masterminds. There are others. We know their names and we think Pakistan also knows their names. If they do not bring others to trial, then I would have to conclude reluctantly and regrettably that they are still dragging their feet,” he told reporters. The minister was obviously referring to Islamabad’s attempts to shield the head of the terror mall, Hafiz Saeed.

...

arun · Post by **arun** » 30 Jan 2010 14:30

Excerpt from Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s interview by TOI dealing with Hafiz Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan's reluctance to deal speedily with them:

'We have given so much evidence to Pak that even an SHO can start a probe'

30 January 2010, 11:14am IST

Pakistan has said this earlier and is saying again that India hasn't given enough evidence linking Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed to the 26/11 Mumbai attacks...

This is something that I am finding tiresome . If a government keeps its eyes closed even when presented with evidence repeatedly, what can be done apart from raising the matter over and over again? Even apart from the information (given) by Ajmal Kasab (the lone survivor of the Lashkar hit squad), we know that the US has shared some material with India and Pakistan. It has been shared with Pakistan and should goad them to act. Maybe, Pakistan prime minister Yousuf Gilani does not yet know what his ministers do. With the evidence we have given to Pakistan even an station officer can begin an investigation.

Gilani has insisted that the evidence against Saeed is not enough to nail him.

Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi (arrested by Pakistan) is only one of the masterminds responsible for what happened. Just as we know who they are. Pakistan also knows who they are and what they did. Should not Pakistan at least investigate and take that to a logical conclusion? But I don't see anyone; neither PM Gilani , nor foreign minister Mahmood Qureshi nor interior minister Rahman Malik have shown any inclination to do so, by what we have seen in the media.

Pakistan's leaders say they are too engrossed in their fight against terror to be involved in any attack on India .

I really don't see how they can say this. How can any responsible government take this position? Who will be responsible to check such attacks? You will see the absurdity of the argument if I turn it around. If India were to say that it is not responsible for any attack on Pakistan from its soil, how would that sound? The fundamental principle of international relations is that you are accountable for what happens in your territory.

Times Of India

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 30 Jan 2010 16:01

Pakistani government presents proof against Lakhvi, 6 others at ATC, Adiala

The details and nature of the evidence could not immediately be ascertained.

"Following the presentation of evidence, the judge adjourned the matter till February 13," said Shahbaz Rajput, a lawyer for some of the accused.

A Rawalpindi-based division bench of the Lahore High Court this week reserved its decision on a petition filed by Lakhvi seeking his acquittal in the case in the anti-terrorism court.

Look here for a chronology of tortuous history of the case in Pakistan

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 31 Jan 2010 11:09

First prosecution witness produced in ATC, Adiala: a Lahore bank official

Since the court proceedings are not transparent and there is a gag order by the judge on revealing anything to the media, information comes in bits and pieces.

Zaheer Ahmed Sipra, a manager in the commercial branch of the Habib Metropolitan Bank in Lahore, gave evidence that a letter of credit was opened by an importer for purchase of eight Yamaha engines from Japan, said sources with knowledge of the proceedings.

One of those engines was traced by investigators to the dinghy used by the attackers to make landfall in Mumbai on the night of November 26, 2008.

The prosecution initially produced two witnesses, but as both were officials of the same bank, it relinquished one.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 01 Feb 2010 08:12

Maharashtra Fugitive Emerges as 26/11 Suspect - Praveen Swami

Mumbai police investigators say they may have succeeded in putting a face to an until now unidentified Indian Lashkar-e-Taiba operative who played a key role in guiding the operations of the team that attacked Mumbai in November 2008.

Based on information provided by India’s intelligence services, as well as interviews with arrested jihadists, police believe the Indian national in the Lashkar’s control room could be Syed Zabiuddin Syed Zakiuddin Ansari, a Lashkar-linked Maharashtra resident, who has been a fugitive since 2005.

Police say Ansari played a key role in a plot to assassinate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. . . He was last sighted at a Lashkar safe house in Karachi by Hyderabad-based jihadist Mohammad Amjad Khwaja, who was arrested earlier this year.

Investigators put face to voice - Praveen Swami

Police say Ansari was to lead a group of Lashkar-trained Indian jihadists who would have used the equipment to assassinate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi — an operation that would have closely resembled the November 2008 attack on Mumbai in its tactics and execution.

Eleven SIMI-linked men were arrested after the intelligence services penetrated the plot — but Ansari evaded police in a high-speed chase, and escaped to Pakistan.

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 02 Feb 2010 20:37

Terrorists in pakistan get back to business, even collecting money openly in pakistan's national capital in preparation for future attacks. Fruits of SeS and the recent talk of restarting piss process with terrorists.

Jamaat-ud-Dawaa to hold conferences for Pak jehadi groups

February 2, 2010 15:47 IST

ISLAMABAD: After lying low for over a year due to the scrutiny of its leaders in the wake of the Mumbai attack, Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), the frontal outfit of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has stepped up its activities and unveiled plans to hold major conferences of Pakistani jehadi groups on Kashmir this week.

The 'Yakjaiti-e-Kashmir' (Kashmir Solidarity) conference organised by the JuD in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) capital Muzaffarabad on Thursday is expected to be attended by Hizbul Mujahideen commander Syed Salahuddin, JuD leader Abdul Rehman Makki and former Inter-Services Intelligence agency chief Hamid Gul.

JuD chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, will address another 'Kashmir Solidarity' conference to be held in Islamabad on Friday.

JuD is the frontal outfit of LeT, which is responsible for the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. After the 26/11 strikes, the UN banned the JuD and its chief Saeed was placed under house arrest but was subsequently released.

The conference in Muzaffarabad is being held after a gap of several years as such gatherings were not permitted by authorities after former military ruler Pervez Musharraf clamped down on jehadi groups following an assurance to New Delhi that Pakistani soil would not be used for anti-India activities. The meet in Muzaffarabad will be addressed by leaders of jehadi groups, including General Abdullah, Sheikh Jameel Ahmed and Ghulam Muhammad Safi. It will be presided over by Abdul Aziz Alvi, the chief of the PoK chapter of the JuD.

Alvi was briefly detained by authorities in his home in Muzaffarabad in December 2008 after the JuD was declared a front for the LeT by the UN Security Council.

In the past few weeks, the JuD has also resumed issuing statements to the media via email on behalf of jehadi and radical organisations.

The release of such statements had virtually stopped following intense focus on its activities over the past year.

Recently, the JuD issued two statements on behalf of a grouping of radical organisations that asked the Pakistan government to expel the Norwegian ambassador following the publication of blasphemous cartoons of Prophet Mohammed by a newspaper in Norway.

Senior JuD leader Maulana Ameer Hamza was quoted in one of the statements as saying that Pakistan "is a nuclear and missile power and we should not hesitate to use this power to protect the honor" of Prophet Mohammed.

Members of Falah-e-Insaniyat, a front for the JuD, too have stepped up their activities like the collection of donations across Pakistan, including the federal capital.

During the Eid-ul-Azha festival in November, the Falah-e-Insaniyat set up camps across Islamabad to collect skins of sacrifice animals.

AnimeshP · Post by **AnimeshP** » 04 Feb 2010 02:15

The great liberal democracies at work ...

http://www.cphpost.dk/news/national/88-national/48106-intelligence-in-catch-22-over-newspaper-terror-suspect.html

The case against David Headley, the Pakistani-American charged with plotting to blow up the newspaper’s offices in Copenhagen, is currently ongoing in the US. Federal prosecutors have indicated they may seek the death penalty for Headley, if he is found guilty. He is also being charged in connection with the deadly bomb attacks in Mumbai, India in 2008.

American authorities will probably rely on PET for information – certainly that pertaining to the Jyllands-Posten part of the case, but also additional records of any phone calls or communication made to other people that the FBI believes have connections to terrorist organisations.
However, Denmark’s policy is that it does not extradite persons who may risk being sentenced to death, nor does it provide evidence to foreign authorities that may hand down a death sentence to a convicted criminal.

‘We naturally cannot offer legal help with a view to a death penalty being implemented,’ the Justice Ministry wrote in an email to Politiken.

So how many here think that this scumbag will escape the death penalty because Unkil will strike a bargain with the Danes the terms of which will include sparing the death penalty in exchange for information to convict this guy ...

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 04 Feb 2010 02:31

For what offence they seek death penalty? In US the prosecutors always seek more than the law allows to get publicity for future political gains. Its drama bazi.
Seeking death penalty for planning a crime wont happen.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 04 Feb 2010 04:24

Meanwhile Pioneer reports:

Kasab’s fitness proves costly for MP top cop

Pioneer News Service | Bhopal

Inspector General of Police of Special Armed Forces (SAF) Rajendra Kumar was on Wednesday removed from the post for allegedly glorifying Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab.

The Madhya Pradesh top police official had asked his men to emulate Kasab for his dedication, sense of purpose and quick-learning abilities. Kumar went to the extent of dubbing Kasab as a role model.

However, Kumar, later, said: “I was telling my men that only gun and accurate target can help policemen survive against terrorists and Naxals. I also cited the example of Sachin Tendulkar, as how each time the masterblaster gets out he watches on video and then makes corrections. Similarly, in target practice, policemen should see where they are going wrong each time they miss the target.”

Kumar had said how an untrained and half-literate youngster could be motivated even though his passion was misplaced. “Kasab had passion; he learned to shoot and handle modern technology within one month,” said Kumar, adding, “One should have the same passion.”

As the news regarding glorifying Kasab appeared in media, Director General of Police SK Rout had sought an explanation from Kumar and claimed that whatever the reference was, glorifying Kasab was not justified.

On Wednesday, the order relating to removal of Kumar from SAF and posting him at police headquarters (PHQ) was issued.

Despite having glorified Kasab, Kumar wants the terrorist to be hanged. “There was no question of glorifying him. All that I was conveying that terrorists tend to be ruthless and accurate; therefore our police personnel should be good at hitting the target. In most cases, there is never a second chance,” he said, and added: “My conscience is clean. I did not wish to hurt anyone.”

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Congress spokesman JP Dhanopia demanded stern action against Kumar and removal of State Home Minister Uma Shankar Gupta to boost the morale of police force.

Looks like middle India is hardening. While the IGP might be clean in his conscience, it does no good to praise terrorists even in sarcasm.

Masaru · Post by **Masaru** » 05 Feb 2010 00:04

x - post

Is this part of the game to restart the talks?

Indian handler behind 26/11 attacks: Chidambaram

The ten Pakistani terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008 could have been guided by an Indian handler whose true identity was yet to be ascertained, home minister P Chidambaram has said.

"When we say he could be an Indian, he could be somebody who acquired Indian characteristics. He could have been infiltrated into India and lived here long enough to acquire an Indian accent, familiarity with Indian Hindi words or he could be somebody who exfiltrated from India to Pakistan and was adopted by the militants there," Chidambaram said.

"We know him by Abu Jindal that something we have known for many many months now... but he is not Abu Jindal. That is not his real name. We cannot put a finger who he is, unless we get a voice sample. And they won't give us voice sample.

Who is they here?

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 05 Feb 2010 03:10

Pakis!

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 05 Feb 2010 07:59

Mumbai gunman could be Indian, says Delhi
Headline

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 05 Feb 2010 09:15

pgbhat wrote:Mumbai gunman could be Indian, says Delhi
Headline

In a weird way it is entirely appropriate given western propensity to call terrorists (who strike at India) as "Gunmen".

We should co-opt the word -- Like "PC asked for prosecution of LeT gunman Hafiz Sayeed"

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 05 Feb 2010 10:36

I just wanted to mention that Mushy was the first guy mentioning "Indian mujahideen" at high levels post 26/11. He made those comments in that context several times during his "lectures."

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 05 Feb 2010 10:56

pgbhat wrote:Mumbai gunman could be Indian, says Delhi
Headline

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArti ... ernational

Mumbai attackers may have had Indian ‘handler’ (AFP)

4 February 2010, NEW DELHI - The Islamist gunmen who attacked Mumbai in 2008 may have been guided by an Indian, or a man who had lived in India for some time, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Thursday.
In a television interview, Chidambaram said the man, whose true identity had yet to be ascertained, was suspected of acting as a “handler” for the 10 gunmen who killed 166 people in the November 2008 assault on India’s financial capital.

“When we say he could be an Indian, he could be somebody who acquired Indian characteristics. He could have been infiltrated into India and lived here long enough to acquire an Indian accent, and familiarity with Indian Hindi words,” the minister said.

India has always maintained that all the gunmen and those who masterminded the attack were Pakistani, and abetted by “official agencies” in Pakistan.

But Chidambaram said investigators had known for time that there was a “handler” who could be an Indian.

“We know him by Abu Jindal... but that is not his real name,” he said.

“We cannot put a finger on who he is, unless we get a voice sample. And they (Pakistan) won’t give us a voice sample,” he added.

Chidambaram will become the highest level Indian official to visit Pakistan since the attacks when he attends a regional meeting of South Asian interior ministers in the city of Rawalpindi later this month.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 05 Feb 2010 23:03

By highlighting the role of an alleged "Indian" handler, PC has scored a self goal as it will be quoted far and wide to claim it was local Indian issues that led to the terrorist attack. Pakis have shown a proclivity to carry false flag operations. Nothing prevents them form speaking in colloquial Mumbai language to maintain the cover story of local terrorists. Its deception plain and simple. Recall the terrorists claimed to be Deccan Mujhs!

And PC walked into that trap with his demand for more cooperation from TSP. Somehow the role of the TSP in the attack will be downlpayed and the press go after the is ghostly Abu Jindal!

sum · Post by **sum** » 05 Feb 2010 23:08

ramana wrote:By highlighting the role of an alleged "Indian" handler, PC has scored a self goal as it will be quoted far and wide to claim it was local Indian issues that led to the terrorist attack. Pakis have shown a proclivity to carry false flag operations. Nothing prevents them form speaking in colloquial Mumbai language to maintain the cover story of local terrorists. Its deception plain and simple. Recall the terrorists claimed to be Deccan Mujhs!

And PC walked into that trap with his demand for more cooperation from TSP. Somehow the role of the TSP in the attack will be downlpayed and the press go after the is ghostly Abu Jindal!

Maybe, this is also a GoI strategy to help let some pressure off the Pakis and help lubricate the next round of lovemaking we are about to embark on with Pak( the idea for this plan can be credited to the usual Western suspect) ?

krithivas · Post by **krithivas** » 05 Feb 2010 23:39

I actually in agreement with PC acknowledging that one of the handler could have been an Indian; But must have repeatedly stressed on the fact that the facility and logistics required to setup a "war" room to monitor operations required Paki-state patronage. Accept the potential fact, without dilution of the Paki-complicity.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 06 Feb 2010 18:29

India is not giving up on Mumbai terror attack investigations by Pak: Ms. Nirupama Rao

The Government underlines that the offer of dialogue does not mean that it had given up on its expectations about “satisfactory, tangible and concrete action” by Pakistan against terrorism and bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attack to justice.

By what timeframe, madam ? Now, it is open-ended and there will be no pressure on Pakistan at all especially after admission by P.Chidambaram that one of the handlers was an Indian. The Pakistanis have already seized on this. I thought that Chidambaram was cleverer than that, but, perhaps he is in wrong company.

We can now safely assume that the Pakistani-end of the court proceedings will slowly and surely be buried.

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 06 Feb 2010 18:43

I agree with the contention it's a self goal. Now from 'may have an Indian handler', it becomes Indian handler controlled Mumbai operation, Next step is Indian handler becomes RAW. Paki logic does'nt look into the fact that the war room is in Pakistan with ISI and PA Officers and LeT honcho's directing step by step killings. Now it's no longer even speculation. Already Paki fora and the likes of Shrileen and Ahmed Quresihi have concluded it's 'proof' that RAW carried out Mumbai attacks. I don't think our well meaning soft spoken SDRE politicians understand the perfidy called Pukistan. They expose themselves as just too naive for the job.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 06 Feb 2010 18:50

SSridhar wrote:
By what timeframe, madam ? Now, it is open-ended and there will be no pressure on Pakistan at all especially after admission by P.Chidambaram that one of the handlers was an Indian. The Pakistanis have already seized on this. I thought that Chidambaram was cleverer than that, but, perhaps he is in wrong company.
We can now safely assume that the Pakistani-end of the court proceedings will slowly and surely be buried.

There is a telugu saying called as "Panchakootakashayam" and that is very sanskritized word. MMS, Chidu, Krishna, NSA and INC's Kings are the five components of that Pancha-koota-kashayam.

arun · Post by **arun** » 07 Feb 2010 11:26

X Posted. Extract from our Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s interview by CNBC-TV18’s Vir Sanghvi.

Regards 26/11 the HM says that he believes that the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is “hiding some possible state actors”:

Pak hiding real 26/11 culprits: Govt

CNBC-TV18
Published on Sun, Feb 07, 2010 at 08:52 .............................

Vir Sanghvi: The Pakistani attitude to what we have said is that yes they may well have been Pakistani involvement but the evidence that you have provided at a conversational or a foreign minister to foreign minister level is not enough to act in a court of law and there was considerable Indian involvement which we are playing down?

P Chidambaram: First, they are hopelessly wrong. If they want to test me on that, they should let me prosecute them.

Vir Sanghvi: Would you do that?

P Chidambaram: Of course. If they hand them over we will prosecute them on the evidence that we have got. We will prosecute Hafiz Saeed, we will prosecute (Zaki ur Rehman) Lakhvi, we will prosecute Zarar Shah.

Vir Sanghvi: Their legal system is not that different from our. If you were a prosecutor in that court do you think you can get a conviction of the evidence that you have?

P Chidambaram: Of course, my evidence plus further investigation on Pakistan soil.

Vir Sanghvi: So there is a case?

P Chidambaram: There is a cast iron case. There are transcripts, we want voice samples. They refused to provide voice samples. If voice samples are provided we will identify the handler.

Vir Sanghvi: And know who he is exactly?

P Chidambaram: Who is the handler- We will know. We suspect ten people. What does an identification parade do? You line up ten people and then you ask somebody to identify who you saw.

So if you've got a sample voice we have to match it with ten suspects isn’t it. You will know who the handler was. Today, forensic science can easily match the voice sample of a person with the real person.

Vir Sanghvi: Why do you think they are doing this?

P Chidambaram: Because they are hiding the real culprits.

Vir Sanghvi: You have said often and I think this is quite clear now that there is no will in Pakistan to go after the people who did it, I am asking you second question now, do you think there was any kind of semi-official or quasi official involvement in what happened?

P Chidambaram: I don’t know. All I know is that the so-called non-state actors they are putting forward as the culprits are not so non-state as they would like us to believe. They have got very close connections with the state.

Vir Sanghvi: Can you give me an example of what you mean by that?

P Chidambaram: For example, we know how closely Hafiz Saeed is involved with the establishment. Now leave that aside. We also know that there are state actors.

Vir Sanghvi: We know that?

P Chidambaram: Yes. We know that by nom de guerre, by assumed names.

Vir Sanghvi: How does somebody being called Brigadier saab or General saab mean that he is a state actor?

P Chidambaram: We suspect he is a state actor because the way he acted, what he did, where he was at that time, what part he played in the training, what part he played in the dispatch of the militants or terrorists. We know that.

We have to prove he is a state actor. How can you prove unless I have access to him or access to suspects, unless I investigate on Pakistan soil.

Subsequent to Kasab’s confessions and Kasab’s admission in the court, we have some more names and those names are being shared with Pakistan by the United States. Now why is Pakistan not willing to identify who those people are?

Vir Sanghvi: Which leads you to believe what?

P Chidambaram: Which leads me to believe that they are hiding some possible state actors and perhaps many other non-state actors. But I have never accepted this distinction between state actors and non-state actors as far as Pakistan is concerned because they are closely linked.

Vir Sanghvi: There were two things clear; one was that you said that there was no distinction or less distinction in Pakistan between state actors and non-state actors. The second was that you had reason to believe there were state actors involved, though you couldn’t prove it without the co-operation’s of the Pakistani authorities, I want you to talk a little about the second why is there less and less distinction?

P Chidambaram: We know that people who are so called non-state actors have worked closely with some other persons who we think are state actors. Unless we are able to crack the mask of that person, I can’t prove he is a state actor for example, I know that among the handlers there was atleast one state actor.

Vir Sanghvi: You know that?

P Chidambaram: I think he is a state actor, but I can’t prove it unless we investigate it.

Vir Sanghvi: How much certainty?

P Chidambaram: We are pretty much certain there was a state actor.

Vir Sanghvi: And you shared this with the Americans and Pakistanis?

P Chidambaram: The flow of information is not so neat, some of it comes from US and some of it goes back to US. I am not going to tell you where it came from.

Vir Sanghvi: Given your experience with Pakistan, do you believe that there is any will there or the ability to act against these people?

P Chidambaram: I think they are in two minds. I think they know that they have to move forward in order to placate international opinion, but they also know that they cannot go too far unless the people who matter bring them down.

Vir Sanghvi: People who matter in Pakistan?

P Chidambaram: Yes.

Vir Sanghvi: By that you mean what the establishment, or the Army?

P Chidambaram: There is this notorious ISI and then there is the links which ISI has with these organizations— the LeT, the JuT, the Hisbul Mujahideen, they are very closely linked and I don’t think that requires any great argument. So I think they will only do so much just to appease international opinion.

Vir Sanghvi: Then it’s back to business as usual?

P Chidambaram: That I hope doesn’t happen because if that happens it’s a new ball game then.

The verbatim interview transcript is available here:

CNBC-TV18

ashish raval · Post by **ashish raval** » 07 Feb 2010 14:14

pgbhat wrote:Mumbai gunman could be Indian, says Delhi
Headline

Does anyone here remember the treatment of Narendra Modi as a "stupid" by GoI when he suggested that the operation of this scale was impossible without "Indian traitors".

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 07 Feb 2010 15:04

pgbhat wrote:Mumbai gunman could be Indian, says Delhi
Headline

That headline was in complete contrast to the content which clearly said that one of the handlers was an Indian. But, who cares ? The damage is already done. That is why one expects that information is revealed only at an appropriate time. As Tavleen Singh rightly questioned, where was the need for P.Chidambaram to reveal this information now ?

That FT reporter, James Lamont, is based out of New Delhi. The MHA must summon him and ask why such a misleading headline was given. FT needs to be pulled up.

Chinmayanand · Post by **Chinmayanand** » 12 Feb 2010 02:29

26/11 accused Fahim Ansari's lawyer shot dead

AjayKK · Post by **AjayKK** » 12 Feb 2010 12:13

durgesh wrote:26/11 accused Fahim Ansari's lawyer shot dead

More on the above case.

Azmi, who was also representing Indian Mujahideen member Sadiq Sheikh and other accused on behalf of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind , had said there was a conspiracy to spoil the life of educated Muslim youths in jails.

He was defending accused in big cases which was creditable . The latest one that is pending judgment before the supreme court is where he had challenged application of MCOCA in the 7/11 train blasts case, the Malegaon bomb blasts case of 2006 and the Aurangabad arms haul case. He added, Three persons had wanted to hand him a new case and called on him at his house and shot him when he came down.

Azmi was arrested in December 1992 for allegedly conspiring to assassinate Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. He was convicted in 1999 by a special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) judge. He was acquitted by the supreme court later that same year.

Azmi was barely 15 years old when he was picked up by the Govandi police for allegedly indulging in violence a few days after the Babri Masjid was demolished on December 6, 1992.

http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/mob ... blabel=TOI

The TADA court had convicted Azmi, and sentenced him to a five-year jail term for allegedly conspiring to kill former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah. However, Azmi pursued a college degree when he was behind bars from 1992 to 1999. Cracking a postgraduate course in creative writing before being released in 1999, he enrolled for an LLB course with the KC College after the Supreme Court acquitted him. During his last year, he practised as an intern with noted criminal lawyer Majjd Memon in 2002.

But from 2003, Azmi started his own law firm in a tiny 100 sq-feet room on the first floor of the archaic Esplanade Mansion Building at Kalaghoda. He carved a niche for himself as criminal lawyer by taking up controversial cases. He has handled a slew of MCOCA, POTA, and TADA cases other than the usual murder, robbery and rape cases. Known for his calm, yet compelling demeanour even while being in the midst of a heated courtroom argument, Azmi would put most witnesses in a pickle by grilling them over the subtlest of contradictions and loopholes.

Challenging the validity of the MCOCA in the 7/11 blasts case, Azmi petitioned the SC on behalf of accused Zameer Rehman, due to which the trial was stayed.

Azmis proximity with controversial cases even had his family worried sometimes. Soon after the 26/11 terror attacks, when asked why he wasnt interested in defending Ajmal Qasab, he said, My mother is already worried about the kind of cases I handle, especially the terror ones. She restrains me from nurturing more of such headaches.

However, months later, Azmi accepted Qasabs co-accused Fahim Ansaris case and deftly cross-examined a couple of witnesses related to Ansari.

The intelligence agencies kept a close watch on him after he took up the 7/11 blasts and Malegaon blast cases. Given his background, agencies suspected that he was being funded by the ISI. However, no evidence could be found to this effect and he was eventually given a clean chit.

http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/mob ... ublabel=MM

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 14 Feb 2010 14:04

Judge absent, 26/11 case hearing adjourned

Islamabad, Feb 13 (IANS) The hearing of Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi for his alleged involvement in the November 2008 Mumbai attacks was adjourned in a Pakistani court Saturday because the judge was absent.

There was no proceeding held in the high security special court in Rawalpindi's Adiala prison because judge Malik Mohammed Akram Awan was busy in the Supreme Court, said Lakhvi's lawyer Shahbaz Rajput.

Lakhvi and co-accused Zarar Shah, Abu al-Qama, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younus Anjumv -- all Lashkar operatives -- are in the Rawalpindi prison and the trial is being conducted there for security reasons.

The hearing has now been scheduled next Saturday.
...

Pak matches DNA samples of two 26/11 attackers with their fathers'

Sun, Feb 14 05:58 AM
Islamabad has admitted that DNA samples of two of the nine dead 26/11 attackers have matched with those of their fathers and has produced records to substantiate the nationality of the tenth, Ajmal Kasab. Investigators said they are hoping that Pakistan will be forthcoming about the rest as well at talks between the foreign secretaries later this month.

Although the confirmation from Islamabad came in a dossier submitted to New Delhi last year, it had not been talked about as India wanted Pakistan to do more in its crackdown against the Lashkar-e-Toiba handlers blamed for the attack. But with the 26/11 trial in Mumbai nearing completion and authorities struggling to preserve the decomposing bodies of the nine attackers, sources said that further confirmation from Pakistan would help bring a "logical conclusion" to the case here.

Mumbai Police, through New Delhi, had sent DNA samples of all 10 terrorists to authorities in Pakistan. Islamabad got back saying that the samples of Imran Babar alias Abu Akasha and Abul Rehman Chhota alias Saakib had matched with those of their fathers in Multan in Punjab province, sources told The Sunday Express.

Babar was one of the two terrorists holed up at the Chabad centre in Nariman House and sources said that Pakistan had also confirmed his identity through a school certificate and statements of some relatives. Chhota was one of the two terrorists who stormed The Oberoi-Trident hotels.

The dossier also confirmed that Kasab is a Pakistani national and mentions identification documents referenced by Pakistani investigators to establish this. "While being silent on Kasab's DNA sample, the dossier says that his father has been identified in Pakistan. They have also got records from the Urdu medium school from which he dropped out in class four, along with his ration card and voters identification card in Pakistan," said the source.

The dossier, however, made no mention about the other seven men, he said. But in an earlier dossier, Pakistan had said that the broad addresses and locations given by Mumbai police for these seven men could not be located. As reported by The Indian Express earlier, Pakistan had, for the first time, also confirmed the role of one of the two Indians charged in the 26/11 attack, although only partially. It had said that Fahim Ansari, a resident of Mumbai's Goregaon area, entered Pakistan in November 2007 under the name "Hamad Hassan", using a bogus Pakistani passport. Ansari "obtained the passport through misdeclaration of facts", it had said without elaborating. Pak investigators cross-checked these facts with their passport office, as well as with airport entry records. But Islamabad was silent on the crucial charge that the alleged maps made by Ansari were handed over to Lashkar handlers in Pakistan who used them to plot and execute 26/11.

The FBI has since accused David Headley, an American national of Pakistani origin in their custody, of also surveying the 26/11 targets and making videos for his Lashkar bosses in Pakistan.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 15 Feb 2010 01:25

The rest of the seven have non-state fathers.

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 15 Feb 2010 18:42

Trial of Kasab, 2 others to resume on Feb 20 for arguments

...
The prosecution is relying heavily on the evidence adduced in the court against Kasab and two others and claims that it is incriminating against them. According to prosecution, the ballistic reports have indicated that the bullets found from bodies of victims had been fired from Kasab's gun.

They have also submitted an expert opinion which says that Global Positioning System (GPS) instruments used by terrorists had indicated that they had come from Pakistan.

Another incriminating evidence against the accused is a report which matches the DNA samples of Kasab and slain terrorists with the articles found from fishing boat "Kuber". It is the prosecution's case that Kasab and nine others had come from Pakistan by a boat and they had hijacked Kuber in mid-sea in which they landed on the shores of Mumbai.

Kasab is facing the charge of killing 166 persons in the attack on 26th November 2008 while Ansari and Ahmed are charged with drawing maps of terror targets and forwarding them to Lashkar-e-taiba to execute the attacks.

Chinmayanand · Post by **Chinmayanand** » 16 Feb 2010 20:33

Mumbai revisited

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 18 Feb 2010 18:50

India to seek voice samples of seven accused in Mumbai attacks

India will ask for voice samples of seven Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks during next week’s Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan to help in the ongoing probe.

Highly placed sources said India will seek the voice samples of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Zarar Shah, Abu Al Qama, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Younus Anjum and Jamil Ahmed.

The voice samples would be matched with the telephonic intercepts available with Indian security agencies that were recorded during the Mumbai attacks by 10 Pakistani terrorists on November 26, 2008, the sources said.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will hold talks with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir here on February 25 during which India is expected to convey its serious concerns over cross-border terrorism.

negi · Post by **negi** » 19 Feb 2010 00:58

^ HM PC Chidambaram had made a statement in media about GOI's request to GOP for voice sample of the suspects long time back (must be a part of them dossiers).

Tamang · Post by **Tamang** » 20 Feb 2010 12:23

Was this interview with Maroof Raza posted?

'The message has gone out that in India it's always business as usual'

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 20 Feb 2010 16:41

Adiala Trial postponed to March 6

The hearing in the Mumbai attack case against LeT's operations chief Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six other suspects could not take place today in a Pakistani anti-terror court in Rawalpindi in view of local Bar Council elections and the trial will now resume on March 6.

The proceedings, scheduled for today, could not take place because of the Bar Council elections, sources said.

They said it was also not possible to schedule the hearing for next Saturday on February 27 as it would be a public holiday in view of Eid-e Milad-un Nabi, Prophet Mohammad's birth anniversary.

So, the next hearing in the Mumbai attack case had now been set for March 6, the sources said.

Last week also, the trial, which was being held within high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, was adjourned without proceedings as the judge was busy with another official work.

Meanwhile, Lakhvi's lawyer Khwaja Sultan told PTI in Lahore that he believed the proceedings in the anti-terrorism court could not go ahead till a bench of the Lahore High Court gave its verdict on Lakhvi's appeal for acquittal.

The two judges of the Rawalpindi-based bench of the High Court had reserved their verdict on Lakhvi's application, but were subsequently recalled to Lahore. No new judges have been appointed in their place. {This is the next delaying tactic}

See here for a chronology of court drama in Pakistan

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 20 Feb 2010 22:38

26/11 attacks trial adjourned till Feb 22

Mumbai: The hearing on the 26/11 terror case was on Saturday adjourned till Monday after the prosecution sought permission to submit the evidence of 44 more formal witnesses in the form of affidavits.

In another development, one of the arrested accused Faheem Ansari today sought bail from the court to search for a lawyer as his advocate Shahid Azmi was shot dead by three persons last week. Faheem, in his bail plea, said no lawyer was ready to take his case and thus, he wants to be released on bail so that he could go out and appoint a lawyer for himself.

Shahid Azmi's junior Saba Qureshi, who was present in the court, said she is ready to defend Faheem if he allows her to. The court is likely to start hearing the final arguments of both the prosecution and defence in the first week of March.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 22 Feb 2010 20:55

Avinash R wrote:
Shahid Azmi's junior Saba Qureshi, who was present in the court, said she is ready to defend Faheem if he allows her to. The court is likely to start hearing the final arguments of both the prosecution and defence in the first week of March.
http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/feb/ ... l-plea.htm

26/11 trial court rejects Faheem Ansari's bail plea
February 22, 2010 19:59 IST

The trial court on Monday dismissed the bail plea of 26/11 terror attack accused Faheem Ansari saying that the grounds on which the bail has been sought are baseless. Ansari, had appealed for bail on Saturday, stating that the death of his advocate Shahid Azmi has left him without a lawyer.

In his bail plea, Faheem sought his release on the ground that he needs to look for a lawyer as none were ready to take up his case. Ansari's lawyer Shahid Azmi was shot dead by three assailants. Ansari in his bail plea alleged that crime branch officials were responsible for the death of his lawyer as they had previously threatened Azmi to withdraw from the case.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 10 Mar 2010 21:46

Lahore High Court rules that the statement of Kasab cannot be used against the accused

In a significant ruling that could affect the trial of seven suspects charged with involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks in Pakistan, a Bench of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday ruled that Ajmal Amir Kasab's confessional statement could not be used against the accused.

Kasab, the lone surviving gunman in the attacks, is being tried in a special court in Mumbai.

The Rawalpindi-based Bench gave the order in response to a petition filed by Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and other accused who are being tried by an anti-terrorism court for planning and helping to execute the 2008 attacks.

However, the Bench dismissed the plea of Lakhvi and the other accused for acquittal.

Look here for a chronology of Pakistani Court Drama

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 11 Mar 2010 07:52

Killing Israelis was to disrupt Indo-Israeli Relations

Presenting his arguments for the charge of waging war under section 121 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam on Wednesday contended that the intention of the handlers to kill Israeli nationals in the 26/11 attacks was to disrupt the friendly ties between India and Israel. The aim of liberating Kashmir and the choice of Mumbai as the target, all amounted to the waging of “a proxy war” with India.

Mr. Nikam said, according to Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab's judicial confession, “All attackers were told to selectively kill American, British and Israeli nationals for the injustice done [by their respective countries] to Muslims. Agar yeh log [the Holtzberg family] mare jate hai to unke desh ke talukat kharab ho sakte hai [If the Holtzbergs are killed, relations between the countries can sour].”

The prosecutor argued: “The reason given was to arouse communal sentiments, but the hidden intention was to wage war. Handlers gave Imran Babar [one of the two terrorists at Nariman House] clear instructions to kill Israelis to spoil the friendly relations between India and Israel. So that they [Israel] start a fight against India.”

However, judge M.L. Tahaliyani asked Mr. Nikam if the intention could really be taken as inciting a war between the two countries instead of being related to the “so-called atrocities by Israel on Palestine as we know it.”

“We are concerned with the idea [behind the acts of the 26/11 accused] and not with their [attackers'] sense of right and wrong or their cause,” Mr. Tahaliyani pointed out.

Through telephonic conversations, the handlers instructed the Nariman House attackers to put forth a set of demands, namely “asking for the release of prisoners, handing over Muslim states to the Muslims and withdrawing troops from Kashmir,” Mr. Nikam said.

Throughout the proceedings, Kasab was found napping and at one point had to be roused out of his slumber.

arun · Post by **arun** » 11 Mar 2010 08:11

Pakistani origin Tahawwur Rana who is on trial in Chicago on terrorism charges is denied bail yet again:

Bail again denied in Mumbai terror case