Chairman House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South AsiaThere is, in fact, no reason to doubt that Pakistan’s military is likely paying compensation to the families of the terrorists killed in the Mumbai attacks. These are our allies in the war on terror.
Look here for a chronology of Pakistani Court DramaA Pakistani anti-terror court conducting the trial of seven suspects for their involvement in the 26/11 attacks on Saturday accepted an application from the prosecution for Ajmal Kasab to be declared a fugitive and adjourned the case for a week.
The Federal Investigation Agency, which probed Pakistani links to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, submitted an application in the anti-terrorism court of Judge Malik Muhammad Akram Awan asking for Kasab to be declared a “proclaimed offender” or a fugitive.
The court admitted the application and scheduled the next hearing for March 20, when it will hear arguments on the plea by the prosecution and defence lawyers.
“The application was taken up first as it was a procedural matter,” Shahbaz Rajput, a lawyer representing some of the accused, told PTI.
Sources said several witnesses were scheduled to testify during today’s hearing but could not do so as the court took up the FIA’s application.
The FIA’s plea had become necessary as a bench of the Lahore High Court had ruled earlier this week that Kasab’s trial could not be separated from that of the seven accused — Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Zarar Shah, Abu al-Qama, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younas Anjum.
In a judgement given on Tuesday, the Rawalpindi-based bench of the Lahore High Court had also ruled that Kasab’s confessional statement to Indian authorities could not be used in Pakistani courts.
Legal experts said this could significantly affect the Pakistani prosecution team’s case as Kasab’s statement was a crucial part of it.
Sources said the defence lawyers were planning to challenge the FIA’s move to get Kasab declared a fugitive as he was “not willingly avoiding an appearance in a Pakistani court”.
The defence lawyers plan to contend that Kasab is in the custody of Indian authorities and is thus not a fugitive from law.{I think they will win the point. By declaring that Kasab's statemets in Indian courts are inadmissible, the Lahore High Court has given a huge reprieve to the LeT accused} The seven accused have been booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act, Pakistan Penal Code and a cyber crimes law.
The trial in the anti-terrorism court has been mired by controversies and delays since last year.
The judge was changed twice and Lakhvi’s counsel has filed at least seven petitions seeking his acquittal, challenging the case prepared by the prosecution team and asking for the transfer of the trial from Rawalpindi to Lahore.
Special public prosecutor Malik Rab Nawaz Noon has even said the defence lawyers are causing “unnecessary hindrances” by filing such petitions.
X Posted.arun wrote:X Posted. The US Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia held on March 11, 2010 a hearing titled “Bad Company: Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and the Growing Ambition of Islamist Militancy in Pakistan”
In his comment Gary Ackerman, Chairman of the Subcommittee disclosed that the Military of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has likely paid compensation to the next of kin of the terrorists killed in the 26/11 Mumbai attack:
Chairman House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South AsiaThere is, in fact, no reason to doubt that Pakistan’s military is likely paying compensation to the families of the terrorists killed in the Mumbai attacks. These are our allies in the war on terror.
A Chicago man is scheduled to plead guilty Thursday in federal court here in connection with the 2008 terror assault in Mumbai, India that took some 170 lives, court records showed today.
David Coleman Headley, 49, has been cooperating with investigators since his arrest in Chicago last October.
The indictment alleged that Headley traveled to India on several occasions before the coordinated assault to scout hotels, a train station and other targets.
Headley is also charged in a plot to attack a Danish newspaper as revenge for its publishing controversial cartoons about the Prophet Muhammad that enraged much of the Muslim world.
Tahawwur Rana, another Chicago man, has also been charged with being involved behind the scenes in plotting both attacks.
He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Rana owns an immigration business that Headley allegedly used as cover for his trips to both India and Denmark.
We'll protest strongly if Headley is let off: Govt
NDTV Correspondent, Thursday March 18, 2010, New Delhi ....................
Home Secretary G K Pillai has told NDTV that it would be "disturbing" if the American terrorist is let off.
"India will lodge a strong protest if Headley is let off lightly," he said, adding, "Our ultimate aim is to get Headley extradited. We will continue to demand access, and that will be easy if he's out of court jurisdiction."
But the Home Secretary also said that Headley is not a US agent - as widely rumoured. "The Americans have told us that David Headley is not their agent; we believe them," Pillai said, adding, "If the US had known that there was an anti-India plot, they would have told us; they have cooperated with us in providing answers." ............................
NDTV
That's good to know.arun wrote:X Posted.
Home Secretary G K Pillai has told NDTV that it would be "disturbing" if the American terrorist is let off.
"India will lodge a strong protest if Headley is let off lightly," he said, adding, "Our ultimate aim is to get Headley extradited. We will continue to demand access, and that will be easy if he's out of court jurisdiction."
Ramana-garu,ramana wrote:That statement by Sri Pillai is one that should be made by the HM. What is happening? Bureaucrats talk like minsters and vice versa.
I think the Headley guilty plea to get out of extradition is an egg in the face of PC and his pro-US stance.
Patil was do nothing Home Minister and PC is a do wrong Home Minster.
The lawyers argued that Kasab was not a fugitive as he was not 'wilfully' avoiding the Pakistani court. Kasab was in the custody of Indian authorities since the Mumbai attacks in November 2008 and this was known to the prosecution when a case was registered in Pakistan in January 2009, they said.
Lakhvi's counsel Khwaja Sultan told the court that Pakistan government should approach its Indian counterpart to bring Kasab to Pakistan to be tried along with the other accused.
Look here for a chronology of Pakistani Court DramaSources said the court adjourned the matter till March 27 when the judge is expected to give a decision on the application filed by the prosecution.
The application became necessary after the Lahore high court recently ruled that Kasab's trial could not be separated from that of the seven accused. The HC gave its ruling in response to a petition filed by Lakhvi.
** Deleted **. Doesn't have a clue on the content of the papers he hand delivers to TSP.On the 13th the Home Minister also has said that India believes that at least one serving Pakistani Army officer - a certain Major Samir Ali - and another retired officer - a Major Abdur Rehman - were in the Control Room in Pakistan giving instructions to the 26/11 attackers. Does India now have proof of Pakistani state involvement in 26/11?
S M Krishna: If the Home Minister has made a statement of this kind, I am sure that he would be having enough evidence to substantiate that.
Karan Thapar: Do you know of this evidence?
S M Krishna: I have also heard and I have also read what the Home Minister has said. And then we have provided dossiers to the Pakistan Government.
Karan Thapar: Is this evidence in those dossiers?
S M Krishna: I do not know. I am not aware whether the dossier would have contained what the distinguished Home Minister has said.
Doesn't have a clue or is deliberately obfuscating? Besides, I wouldn't say things like that if I were you. I would request you to edit it asap!mmasand wrote:Doesn't have a clue on the content of the papers he hand delivers to TSP.
The interview also touches upon Pakistan’s involvement in terrorism targeting India in Afghanistan and the involvement of Pakistani “State Actors” in the 26/11 terrorist attack on Mumbai. The transcript of the complete interview is here:Karan Thapar: Let us come to David Coleman Headley who is in the news. Now that he has decided to plead guilty and he is likely to get a lesser sentence, are you beginning to suspect that he could be an American double agent who turned rogue?
S M Krishna: That is what is being speculated by the media in our country.
Karan Thapar: Do you share that fear or apprehension?
S M Krishna: We are closely watching what Headley will be saying or what Headley would be committing himself to in any court of law.
Karan Thapar: And then you will make up your mind?
S M Krishna: Perhaps then only we could come to some conclusion.
Karan Thapar: Has America been upfront and transparent or do you have a feeling that they have withheld details and information about Headley because they want to either protect what he knows or protect institutions like the FBI and CIA?
S M Krishna: We are cooperating with the United States and they are reciprocating in ample measure to fight terrorism. I think terrorism is a top priority with reference to the Government of the United States.
Karan Thapar: Does that mean they are cooperating?
S M Krishna: We are in close cooperation with the United States in fighting terror.
Karan Thapar: Does that mean they are upfront and honest about Headley?
S M Krishna: I think it goes without saying.
Karan Thapar: You have no reservations about that?
S M Krishna: No, I have no reservations.
Karan Thapar: It emerges that Headley was on the FBI radar for at least a year before he was arrested, which means that for a whole month before 26/11 he was under American surveillance. Yet, just five months later in April 2009 the Americans allowed him to come to India without informing the Indian Government. Have you taken that issue up with them?
S M Krishna: We have taken up all relevant issues with reference to Headley.
Karan Thapar: Including the fact that he visited India and they did not inform you he was doing so even though he was under their surveillance?
S M Krishna: Whatever has come to the knowledge of Government of India through our media or through what we hear from others, we have conveyed to the United States.
Karan Thapar: And have you got responses that satisfy you? Or are you still in need of greater information?
S M Krishna: I have said it earlier that the United States is fighting terror. We are on the same page as far as fighting terror is concerned.
Karan Thapar: Has India asked the United States for access to Headley?
S M Krishna: We have asked for certain reports after they finish with their interrogation, after they finish investigating into Headley because it is the United States Government which has moved against him.
Karan Thapar: That I understand but those are reports after they finish.
S M Krishna: We are awaiting the report.
Karan Thapar: But you have sought access to Headley himself as yet?
S M Krishna: It all depends upon the kind of report that we get.
Karan Thapar: So, you are awaiting the reports before you make up your mind?
S M Krishna: Yes.
I am surprised by our Foreign Minister’s claim that he does not know the contents of the dossier handed over by India to Pakistan. More particularly his claims not to know if the allegation made by his own cabinet and party colleague that a serving officer of the Pakistan Army was involved in the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack was included in the dossier.mmasand wrote:Transcript from CNN IBN,SM Krishna interview with Karan Thapar
** Deleted **. Doesn't have a clue on the content of the papers he hand delivers to TSP.On the 13th the Home Minister also has said that India believes that at least one serving Pakistani Army officer - a certain Major Samir Ali - and another retired officer - a Major Abdur Rehman - were in the Control Room in Pakistan giving instructions to the 26/11 attackers. Does India now have proof of Pakistani state involvement in 26/11?
S M Krishna: If the Home Minister has made a statement of this kind, I am sure that he would be having enough evidence to substantiate that.
Karan Thapar: Do you know of this evidence?
S M Krishna: I have also heard and I have also read what the Home Minister has said. And then we have provided dossiers to the Pakistan Government.
Karan Thapar: Is this evidence in those dossiers?
S M Krishna: I do not know. I am not aware whether the dossier would have contained what the distinguished Home Minister has said.
Kasab made scapegoat by police as he is Pak national: Lawyer
Mumbai, March 25, 2010
He is an innocent village boy who became the scapegoat in the 26/11 terror attacks case as he is a Pakistani, this is how Ajmal Kasab's lawyer K P Pawar described the gunman in his final arguments in the trial on Thursday.
"Kasab has no connection with the perpetrators of the 26/11 attacks. He has been arrested by police just because he is a Pakistani and according to the police the conspiracy of the attack was hatched in Pakistan," Pawar told a special court here.
Earlier, Kasab had taken a similar stand before the court when he gave his statement after the recording of evidence.
Kasab had come to India a fortnight before November 26 and was arrested by police from suburban Juhu Chowpatty where he had gone for a stroll, Pawar said.
"Kasab is an innocent boy from a small village in Pakistan who has become an easy prey and target for the police," he lawyer told special Judge M L Tahiliyani.
Pawar further said since all the 10 terrorists who had carried out the attacks were dead, the police had to arrest someone to show that one of the conspirators has been arrested.
"Police are not able to arrest the 35 absconding accused and hence are targeting an innocent person."
According to Pawar, the evidence adduced by the prosecution in the form of photographs, CCTV footages and DNA tests are "manipulated, fabricated and improbable".
On Kasab's confession before a magistrate and his guilt plea before the special court, Pawar said it was given under police "duress".
"The police had assured that he would be given lesser punishment and would be shifted out of this jail if he pleaded guilty," he said.
Pawar further argued that the police has tutored the witnesses to give evidence against the gunman.
Pawar will continue his arguments tomorrow after which the lawyers of the two other arrested accused - Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed - would make their final arguments.
The court would then declare a date on which it would pass the judgement in the case.
Kasab, Ansari and Ahmed were arrested for their alleged involvement in the conspiracy of the 26/11 attacks in which 166 people were killed and several others injured.
Not to come up with the standard "I said so n months ago" claimarun wrote:with Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna relegated to the role of a prop..
. I felt that S.M Krishna and Shashi Tharoor the twittering champion were propped up by the Congress regime to get the so called "IT-Vity, educated elite" to put in their votes for the Congress. There was a always the claim that "Indian politicians are not educated, and thus crude and cannot makie decisions". I have personally seen people making tall claims on Shashi Tharoor, because he worked in UN and he can Twit (thus tech Savvy). But the way these two are behaving, and making some goof up or the other makes me wonder whether they are worth the position they hold. Looks like it is the old-horses in Congress who is running the show, with the Foreign Minister duo playing the role of "glorified" side-kicks 
.X Posted.SSridhar wrote:India to write to US for access to Headley
X Posted. The US goes out of its way to protect the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and stonewalls on the question of the involvement of the military of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the Mumbai 26/11 terrorist attack.arun wrote:X Posted.SSridhar wrote:India to write to US for access to Headley
The battle to get Pakistani origin terrorist Daood Gilani aka David coleman Headley is going to be a long and bruising one as the US has practice at shielding terrorists.
Take the case of the terrorist Luis Posada Carrilles.
The association of Luis Posada Carrilles with the CIA and FBI besides the fact that his terrorism targeted long time US bête noire Cuba and more recent US bête noire Venezuela, has ensured a long and tortuous path just to bring the terrorist to trial in the US.
This foregoing should be a pointer on what the US could dish out to India notwithstanding protestations of combating global terrorism together.
Check out the declassified documents available at the National Security Archives website maintained by George Washington University which establishes the prior knowledge of the CIA and FBI of the career Luis Posada Carrilles’ in International Terrorism and his connections to U.S:
LUIS POSADA CARRILES : THE DECLASSIFIED RECORD
Philip J. Crowley
Assistant Secretary
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
March 26, 2010 …………………………..
QUESTION: On Pakistan and the David Coleman Headley case, The New York Times is reporting that Mr. Saeed, who is David Coleman Headley’s key contact, is a member of the Pakistani military. And the question is: Does the U.S. have a response on evidence that a member of the Pakistani military class played such a key role in plotting Mumbai and the Danish newspaper plot?
MR. CROWLEY: I’m not familiar with that information.
US State Department
See here for a chronology of court drama in PakistanPakistani anti-terror court conducting trial of seven suspects in the Mumbai attacks case dismissed prosecution's application for naming Ajmal Kasab and Fahim Ansari as proclaimed offenders.
After Special court, would come an appeal in HC and then in the SC followed by an appeal to the President followed by getting a number on the waiting list? To be executed as time or circumstances demands...
A special court in Mumbai on Wednesday set May 3 for pronouncing its verdict in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case, over a year after trial began in the sensational case that saw several ups and downs, including prime accused Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab retracting his confession.
According to Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, the final arguments in the case ended here Wednesday and Speial Judge ML Tahaliyani scheduled the verdict for May 3. Kasab and his Indian associates Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed are the prime accused in the case.
"Thereafter, if Kasab is found guilty, then the special judge would decide about the punishment," a beaming Nikam told mediapersons.
“The trial is a gimmick and an eyewash. The Indian government will simply keep him in custody, not wanting to antagonise anybody by actually announcing the capital punishment. They do not want to do anything that can cause ‘trouble’. But we should not be scared. What is the point of concluding the trial if we are still not going to reach a conclusion? It is time for India to send a strong signal that we have the courage to fight terrorism.’’
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 749242.cms
ISLAMABAD: In a new twist in the Mumbai terror attack case, Pakistan on Saturday approached the Interpol seeking Red Corner Notice for arresting Ajmal Kasab and Fahim Ansari, currently undergoing trial in India.
This was stated by Special Public Prosecutor Malik Rab Nawaz Moon as an anti-terrorism court conducting the trial of the seven 26/11 attack accused, including LeT operations chief Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, adjourned the hearing in the case till April 17.
The proceedings at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where judge Malik Mohd Akram Awan is hearing the case for security reasons, were adjourned after the prosecution sought "maximum" time to challenge a Lahore High Court order that said the trial of the seven suspects could not be separated from that of Kasab and Ansari, who are currently in the custody of Indian authorities.
Present family name: SAYED
Forename: HAFIZ SAAB
Sex: MALE
Date of birth: 5 June 1950 (59 years old)
Place of birth: SARGODHA PUNJAB, Pakistan
Nationality: Pakistan
Categories of Offences: CRIMES AGAINST LIFE AND HEALTH, CRIMES AGAINST LIFE AND HEALTH ATTEMPT, CRIMES INVOLVING THE USE OF WEAPONS/EXPLOSIVES, CRIMES INVOLVING THE USE OF WEAPONS/EXPLOSIVES COMPLICITY, KIDNAPPING, TERRORISM, TERRORISM COMPLICITY, TERRORISM INCITEMENT
Arrest Warrant Issued by: BOMBAY / India
Present family name: LAKHVI
Forename: ZAKI UR REHMAN
Sex: MALE
Date of birth: 30 December 1960 (49 years old)
Place of birth: Pakistan
Nationality: Pakistan
Categories of Offences: CRIMES AGAINST LIFE AND HEALTH, CRIMES AGAINST LIFE AND HEALTH ATTEMPT, CRIMES INVOLVING THE USE OF WEAPONS/EXPLOSIVES, CRIMES INVOLVING THE USE OF WEAPONS/EXPLOSIVES CONSPIRACY, KIDNAPPING, TERRORISM, TERRORISM CONSPIRACY, TERRORISM INCITEMENT
Arrest Warrant Issued by: ADDL. SESSIONS JUDGE SESSIONS COURT GR.BOMBAY / India
Legal Status
Present family name: ABU HAMZA
Forename: MOHAMMED RAMADHAN MOHAMMED SIDDIQUI
Sex: MALE
Date of birth: 5 January 1970 (40 years old)
Place of birth: Pakistan
Nationality: Pakistan
Categories of Offences: CRIMES AGAINST LIFE AND HEALTH, CRIMES AGAINST LIFE AND HEALTH ATTEMPT, CRIMES INVOLVING THE USE OF WEAPONS/EXPLOSIVES, CRIMES INVOLVING THE USE OF WEAPONS/EXPLOSIVES CONSPIRACY, KIDNAPPING, TERRORISM, TERRORISM CONSPIRACY, TERRORISM INCITEMENT
Arrest Warrant Issued by: MUMBAI / India
See TSP is making progress on the Mumbai issue onleechaanakya wrote:Pak seeks Interpol Red Corner Notice against Kasab, Ansari
.This is a great drama in which the Defence, the Prosecution, the State and the Court are enacting a big drama in great unison.According to defence lawyer Malik Mohammad Rafiq Khan, the hearing was adjourned till April 17 when the prosecution will apprise the court of the progress and developments with regard to the Red Corner Notices.
The defence argument was that a Red Corner Notice was issued only for fugitives and in this case both Kasab and Ansari were in custody. Further, it would be possible for Pakistan to get Kasab and Ansari only if there was an extradition treaty between the two countries.
The FIA has decided to approach Interpol in view of the defence argument that Kasab's confessional statement could not be used against the seven accused in Pakistan.
The defence lawyers have been arguing that Kasab's confessional statement could be used only if he was being tried in the same court along with the seven others.
India on Sunday ruled out handing over Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist caught during the 26/11 strikes, or his associate Fahim Ansari to Pakistan, saying “justice” was taking its course in the case.
The Karachi-based D-company of the fugitive Indian underworld don Dawood Ibrahim possibly had an important role in 26/11 carnage by providing logistic support to the LeT-operatives to carry out the deadly operation, adding a new dimension to the Mumbai terror attacks.
The involvement of the D-company in the Mumbai attacks has come out in a report on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) released by the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College, Department of Defence, which says that the D-company is now closely tied with LeT activities in India.
According to the report, Dawood is believed to have resided in Pakistan since 1993 and now owns malls, luxury homes, and shipping and trucking lines that smuggle arms and heroin into India.
In exchange for his refuge in Pakistan, the report said a percentage of D-company’s profits were diverted to ISI-supported Islamic militant groups such as LeT.
“Evidence demonstrates that these links were formed in late 1993 or early 1994. Photographs of Tiger Memon posing with leaders of the Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front (JKIF) at an ISI safe house in Muzaffarabad surfaced and served as the first proof of the involvement of mafia money in Kashmir,” the report said.
The report authored by Ryan Clarke says the D-company has now extended its base to Saudi Arabia too.
“LeT, which is estimated to be responsible for 60 per cent of terrorist killings in India, has been able to establish cells in several parts of the world as a result of assistance received from elements within ISI and Dawood’s network within India and in the Gulf,” the report said. “There have been arrests of LeT operatives all over the world, including seven arrests by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) during then Pakistan President Musharraf’s June 2003 visit to the United States.”
Even though the information was repressed in order to avoid embarrassing Musharraf, the operatives from Washington and Philadelphia were eventually charged with “stockpiling weapons and conspiring to wage jihad against India in support of terrorists in Kashmir,” it said.
Further, U.S. authorities claim that there are still two wanted suspects related to these arrests that are residing in Saudi Arabia.
“D-company has shifted some of its assets to Saudi Arabia fearing a crackdown from UAE authorities, and if LeT operatives are indeed hiding in the Sunni kingdom they are possibly doing so with Ibrahim’s knowledge and assistance. Saudi money is also a primary financer of LeT’s activities in Pakistan and Kashmir,” it said.
The report points to Tanvir Ahmad Ansari, a practitioner of Unani medicine and LeT operative suspected of involvement in the 7/11 Bombay serial bombings, was tasked with strengthening relations between LeT and D-company.
The motivations for this cultivation were both tactical and strategic as LeT’s partner in the Islamic Front for Jihad, al-Qaeda, expressed a desire to expand its operations in East Africa and were willing to offer cash for D-company’s networks.
“Ibrahim accepted al-Qaeda’s offer, and Anees Ibrahim, Dawood’s younger brother, made sizeable investments in the shipping industries of East Africa and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to underwrite D-company’s narcotics trafficking activities,” the report said.
The arrest of Syed Abdul Karim, a top LeT operative, in Mombassa, Kenya, is another demonstration of the link between LeT and D-company as Karim was utilising the well-established D-company infrastructure in East Africa to avoid arrest,” it added.
Observing that Dawood has strong relations with several wealthy traders in Mombassa, many of whom are of South Asian descent, the report said these occurrences have led some to believe that Ibrahim is the “point man” for al-Qaeda and that although Dawood is not an ISI agent, he is indeed an accomplice to their subversive activities.
As D-company has established infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and as Riyadh’s effort to stem the outward flow of terrorism from its territory have fallen short, traffic may increase as Saudi Arabia will continue to serve as a major transit point for money and fighters for conflicts in Middle Eastern hot spots and also for problem zones in the Indian subcontinent.
“Although it is important not to adopt an alarmist stance over the potential of Saudi Arabia’s enhanced role in Kashmir, it would be prudent for analysts and security personnel to monitor the situation closely,” the report cautioned.
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.ar ... ?PubID=973
Strategic Studies Institute
United States Army War College
Lashkar-I-Taiba: The Fallacy of Subservient Proxies and the Future of Islamist Terrorism in India
March 18, 2010
Authored by Dr. Ryan Clarke
Brief Synopsis
A discussion of the foundation of Lashkar-i-Taiba (LeT), the development of its modus operandi, and engages in an investigation of LeT’s activities in India, Pakistan, and the Kashmir region are discussed. Further, LeT’s fundraising methods are touched upon, and LeT’s relationships with regional state and nonstate actors such as Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Dawood Ibrahim’s D-Company are analyzed. Also, the impact that these developments have on domestic Islamist terrorism in India are addressed. The author argues that although LeT has been a vital component of Islamabad’s regional strategy in the past, the organization has grown beyond the control of its former patron, is largely self-sufficient and operates independently of the political process, and has expanded its agenda well beyond Kashmir. These developments challenge the long-held notion that irregulars can be sustainably used to achieve limited objectives in an asymmetric conflict and should serve as a clear warning to other state sponsors of terrorism. However, contrary to many analyses, LeT is not likely to sacrifice its independence and come under Al-Qaeda’s umbrella. Rather, LeT will continue to evolve into a distinctive, South Asia-centric terrorist actor in its own right while still receiving aid from fringe elements in Pakistan’s security and intelligence apparatus and elsewhere. This will not only allow LeT to continue to plan future Mumbai-style terrorist attacks in India from safe havens in Pakistan, but will also allow LeT to guide and assist the predominantly indigenous Indian Mujahideen (IM).
Dr. Ryan Clarke has been working as an Associate Research Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore. Prior to RSIS, he worked as an Analyst at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London. He has spent the majority of the past 4 years living, researching, and conducting advisory work in Asia. Prior to Cambridge, he worked with several specialized police units, including the U.S. Marshals in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dr. Clarke has published over 20 articles and has several more forthcoming in the near future. He is fluent in both Hindi and Urdu. Aside from these languages, he speaks basic Punjabi as well as Bahasa Indonesian and Mandarin at an intermediate level. Dr. Clarke holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice Studies from the University of Dayton, graduating with magna cum laude honors; a Master’s Degree in International Relations at Bond University, Australia; and recently completed his Ph.D. in Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
The report which runs to 117 pages, can be downloaded from the site
Ram
Since the entire nation had watched Kasab and his associates unleash a reign of terror in Mumbai on television wasn't it a simple case for the prosecution?
It is not an open and shut case as it seems. To establish the acts of Kasab and his associates we had to prove the foreign hand. It had to be established that these man had come to Mumbai to wage a war against the country.
We have had the shortest trial in a terror case in the country's history. What are the salient points of the case?
For the first time ever we have had US Federal Bureau Investigation sleuths coming to Indian courts to depose in a trial. The FBI's testimony was important in retrieving the data from the (terrorists') GPS (global positioning system), which is a first in the annals of prosecution in India.
The Pakistan government has moved the Interpol for a Red Corner alert against Kasab and Fahim Ansari. Will it affect the court proceedings?
Absolutely no. The said notice has no implications on our case.
How strong is the case of the prosecution against Kasab?
We have a fool-proof case against Kasab. We have eyewitness accounts from people who have actually seen Kasab and his associates shooting people. We have circumstantial evidence, besides technical and expert evidence to show that Kasab and nine others came to Mumbai from Pakistan in a boat and killed people here. In this case we are strong on all four counts.
You had reservations about the tactics adopted by the defence in this case?
The defence had made deliberate attempts to prolong the trials. They adopted a D2 strategy meaning delay and derail the trial. However, the strategy adopted by defence to prolong the trial did not bear any fruit and we have managed to complete it in seven months.
Wasn't the defence justified in doing everything to save its client?
Had I been a defence lawyer, I would not have adopted any tactics that would delay the proceedings and derail the process of justice.
You were often accused by defence lawyer Abbas Kazmi of referring him as terrorist's lawyer in the court?
(laughs) That was said in a lighter vein.
You had opportunity to be in close quarters with Kasab for seven months. What is your assessment of Kasab?
Kasab was not just trained in weapons but also trained in how to take a defence in court in the eventuality of being caught. He claimed he was not present during the incident. He claimed to be juvenile and said the gun-wielding photographs that appeared in the media were morphed.
How has Kasab been taking to the trial? Initially he appeared to be confident and arrogant.
There has been a change in Kasab and it is evident. I suspect that he now lacks the confident look as he has realised the inevitability of his fate.
You have served as a prosecutor in the 1993 serial blasts case which went on for 13 years. You have also handled the Gateway blasts case? What motivates you?
The fees paid by the state for my services is motivation enough.
Kasab has been often seen in the court trying to draw your attention. After the verdict is there anything you would like to say to Kasab?
There is nothing to say to him, he is a killing machine.
I don't know how the Supreme Court of Pakistan entertains a petition by the accused to acquit him from the case even as the case is being tried in a lower-level court !Pakistan’s Supreme Court has issued notice to the federal government to respond by April 21 to a petition filed by Lashker-e-Taiba “commander” Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi seeking his acquittal in the Mumbai attacks case.
In his petition filed on April 7, Lakhvi sought his acquittal on the ground that the prosecution had no evidence linking him to the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks barring the “retracted” confession of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone attacker arrested by Indian authorities.
Lakhvi also asked the apex court to restrain an anti-terrorism court and the prosecution from using Kasab’s confessional statement as evidence against him.
The petition will be heard by the Rawalpindi bench of the apex court on April 21.
The LeT commander’s counsel Khwaja Sultan contended that the prosecution had not levelled any allegation about Lakhvi’s “connection or interaction” with any of the six co-accused and others persons allegedly involved in the Mumbai carnage.
“The investigation of the case is based on the alleged confession of Kasab, who is in Indian custody. Neither has any witness supported Kasab’s statement nor has Lakhvi been accused of providing training to the terrorists involved in the attacks,” Mr. Sultan told PTI.
“The prosecution, in their charge sheets, maintained that (Lakhvi) was a commander of the LeT but could not establish his link with the accused in the Mumbai attacks.
Under article 43 of Qanoon-e-Shahadat Order (Pakistan’s law of testimony), the confessional statement of an accused can be used against his co-accused only if they are being tried jointly,” Mr. Sultan added.
He further pointed out that Kasab’s name was never mentioned in the charge sheets submitted against Lakhvi.
“Therefore, the statement of Kasab cannot be used against Lakhvi,” Mr. Sultan contended.
Meanwhile, the prosecution has filed a separate petition in the Lahore High Court challenging the anti-terrorism court’s decision not to declare Kasab and Fahim Ansari, another suspect arrested by Indian authorities, as “proclaimed offenders” or fugitives.
This petition is yet to be taken up by the High Court.
See here for a chronology of court drama in PakistanA Pakistani anti-terrorism court conducting the trial of seven suspects linked to the 2008 Mumbai attacks has adjourned the proceedings till May 8.
The Rawalpindi-based anti-terrorism court, which is conducting the trial of Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six other suspects, has adjourned its proceedings till May 8.
The last hearing of the case, scheduled for April 17, was not held as Judge Malik Muhammad Akram Awan, who is conducting the trial, was on leave.
Sources told PTI that the court’s decision to put off the hearing till May 8 appeared to have been influenced by the fact that a special court in Mumbai is scheduled to deliver its verdict against Ajmal Kasab and two Indians for their role in the Mumbai attacks on May 3.
However, Lakhvi’s counsel Khwaja Sultan questioned the anti-terrorism court’s decision to adjourn the trial till May 8.
“Why put off proceedings for three weeks?” he asked.
“These are delaying tactics and perhaps people here are awaiting the outcome of Kasab’s trial in India,” he added.
“The trial is on fast track {Completely false. See the chronology in the previous post} and the accused have exhausted all their rights to get bail and get the FIRs cancelled {Again, totally wrong and misleading.}. We expect the trial will be concluded in the coming months. {There is absolutely no possibility for that exaggerated optimism} My friends from India must realise that once the battle goes to court, it no longer remains in the control of the prosecution, administration or the government. The kind of credible evidence we have put forward, we will get conviction and that is what we want,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik told a delegation of visiting journalists here.
Pakistan had also sought all the statements made by the lone surviving gunman Ajmal ‘Kasab' to make the case foolproof against one of the accused and Lashkar-e-Taiba leader, Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi. {But, Kasab's statements in an Indian Court are not acceptable to Pakistan}
Mr. Malik offered to visit India to meet his counterpart P. Chidambaram to discuss further anti-terrorism measures. He hoped that an opportunity for interaction would arise during the meeting of SAARC Home Ministers which was postponed but could now be held here in June.
The Minister said investigators had prepared the response to the two dossiers submitted by India during the meeting of Foreign Secretaries in New Delhi in February. These would be formally submitted to New Delhi in the coming weeks.
Instead of a third country persuading the two countries to hold talks, Mr. Malik wanted both countries to resume wide-ranging talks. Even if the Indian leadership was wary of reopening dialogue, Pakistan would continue with the trial of the Mumbai attacks accused and continue with efforts to nab more than 15 who had been declared proclaimed offenders.
Asked about the slow pace of the trial initially, Mr. Malik clarified that “once upon a time” the evidence was not sufficient. But with the combination of the information received from India and the evidence developed in Pakistan, “we now have credible information.”
Mr. Malik was hopeful that ‘Kasab' would be handed over to Pakistan after his trial was completed in India. Pakistan was also hoping for India to meet its request for full information on the Samjhauta Express blast. “The allegations against the ISI for the Samjhauta Express blasts have not been good for our image. May be the Research and Analysis Wing or a non-state actor acted on its own.”
So, who was Rehman Malik kidding in the earlier post ? Liars.A Pakistan court has reserved its decision on a petition filed by authorities challenging an anti-terrorism court’s order rejecting a plea to declare Ajmal Kasab and Fahim Ansari as fugitives.
A Rawalpindi-based bench of the Lahore High Court comprising Justices Rauf Ahmed Sheikh and Hasan Raza Pasha reserved its decision on Monday after hearing arguments by the counsel for the Federal Investigation Agency, which had filed the petition on April 10.
It could not immediately be ascertained when the High Court bench would decide on the admissibility of the petition.
The Special Investigation Group of the FIA, which probed Pakistani links to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, had challenged the anti-terrorism court’s decision not to declare Kasab and Ansari as “proclaimed offenders” or fugitives.
Sources said the FIA wants Kasab and Ansari to be declared fugitives so that Kasab’s confessional statement can be used against the seven Pakistani suspects being tried by the anti-terrorism court for allegedly planning and facilitating the Mumbai attacks.
These seven suspects are Lashker-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Zarar Shah, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Abu al-Qama, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Younas Anjum and Jamil Ahmed.
A separate bench of the Lahore High Court had ruled earlier that Kasab’s statement could not be used as evidence in a Pakistani court.
In an order issued on March 27, the anti-terrorism court had turned down the FIA’s request to declare Kasab and Ansari as fugitives.