Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

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sukhish
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Re: Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

Post by sukhish »

what exactly is modi's strategy now to bring justice. meeting with Nawaz again
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Re: Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

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26/11 Mumbai attack: Retired Pakistani official makes 7 admissions that nail Pakistan - IANS
Pakistan must admit its mistakes for allowing Pakistani terrorists to sail to Mumbai in 2008 and carry out a massacre, a retired Pakistani official said in remarks published on Tuesday.

"Pakistan has to deal with the Mumbai mayhem, planned and launched from its soil," Tariq Khosa, a former director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), wrote in the Dawn newspaper.

"This requires facing the truth and admitting mistakes," he said. "The entire state security apparatus must ensure that the perpetrators and masterminds of the ghastly terror attacks are brought to justice."

Khosa said the case had lingered on for far too long.

He said dilatory tactics by the defendants, frequent change of trial judges and the assassination of the case prosecutor as well as retracting from original testimony by some key witnesses had proved to be serious setbacks for the prosecutors.

Ten Pakistani terrorists sneaked into Mumbai from the sea in November 2008 and massacred 166 Indians and foreigners in an attack that almost brought the two countries to war.

One of the terrorists, Ajmal Kasab, was caught and later hanged in India. Security forces killed the others. Islamabad initially denied any links with the attackers but later admitted that Kasab and the masterminds were Pakistani nationals.

Khosa pointed out that Kasab was a Pakistani and that the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists who attacked Mumbai were trained near Thatta in Sindh and launched by sea from there.

"The training camp was identified and secured by the investigators. The casings of the explosive devices used in Mumbai were recovered from this training camp and duly matched.

"Third, the fishing trawler used by the terrorists for hijacking an Indian trawler in which they sailed to Mumbai was brought back to harbour, then painted and concealed. It was recovered by the investigators and connected to the accused.

"Fourth, the engine of the dinghy abandoned by the terrorists near Mumbai harbour contained a patent number through which the investigators traced its import from Japan to Lahore and then to a Karachi sports shop from where an LeT-linked militant purchased it along with the dinghy. The money trail was followed and linked to the accused who was arrested.

"Fifth, the ops room in Karachi, from where the operation was directed, was also identified and secured by the investigators. The communications through Voice over Internet Protocol were unearthed.

"Sixth, the alleged commander and his deputies were identified and arrested. Seventh, a couple of foreign-based financiers and facilitators were arrested and brought to face trial," Khosa said.

The retired official said that the Mumbai case was unique, and that proving conspiracy in a different jurisdiction was more complex and required a far superior quality of evidence.

"Therefore, the legal experts from both sides need to sit together rather than sulk and point fingers."

Khosa asked: "Are we as a nation prepared to muster the courage to face uncomfortable truths and combat the demons of militancy that haunt our land?"
I am unable to locate the DAWN report or blog by Khosa
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Re: Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

Post by Patni »

Here is Link to DAWN:

Mumbai attacks trial
THE Mumbai terror attacks were claimed by India to be its 9/11. For more than 66 hours, 10 highly trained militants played havoc in India’s commercial metropolis, spraying bullets and shedding the blood of innocent civilians and tourists in November 2008, bringing the two nuclear neighbours to the brink of an all-out war.

In Ufa, Russia on July 10, 2015, both the prime ministers of Pakistan and India were “prepared to discuss all outstanding issues,” and both the leaders “condemned terrorism in all its forms” and agreed to cooperate with each other “to eliminate this menace from South Asia”. Therefore, we in Pakistan should welcome this development wholeheartedly.

Didn’t we suffer the pain and agony of our own 9/11 on Dec 16, 2014, at the hands of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and its surrogates and aren’t we as a nation determined to root out terrorism in all its forms from our soil? The answer is obviously a resounding yes and I have no doubt that the political and security leadership have resolved to eliminate the scourge of terrorism, militancy and extremism through the counterterrorism National Action Plan. The duality and distinction between good and bad Taliban, including all militants and terrorists, should stand removed from Miramshah to Muridke, from Karachi to Quetta.

Against this backdrop, the agreement between PMs Sharif and Modi in Ufa to approve the meeting of their national security advisers to “discuss all issues related to terrorism” was a welcome development. Pakistan’s concerns in respect of the botched investigation into the Samjhauta Express bombing and alleged covert support to the Baloch insurgency as well as reported ‘terror financing’ both in Karachi and Fata by Indian and other foreign agencies should not only be highlighted but concrete evidence presented to put a stop to such means of non-kinetic warfare resorted to by sleuths from both sides to further their so-called national interests.

There are very knowledgeable and competent professionals with investigation and intelligence background in Pakistan who can meet the Indian security officials and talk as professionals. They too have many skeletons in their cupboards. So why fight shy? Let both India and Pakistan admit their mistakes and follies and learn to co-exist while trying to find solutions to their thorny issues through peaceful means.

Pakistan has to deal with the Mumbai mayhem, planned and launched from its soil. This requires facing the truth and admitting mistakes. The entire state security apparatus must ensure that the perpetrators and masterminds of the ghastly terror attacks are brought to justice. The case has lingered on for far too long. Dilatory tactics by the defendants, frequent change of trial judges, and assassination of the case prosecutor as well as retracting from original testimony by some key witnesses have been serious setbacks for the prosecutors. However, cognizance was taken by the Islamabad High Court which directed the trial to be concluded within two months.

The following facts are pertinent. First, Ajmal Kasab was a Pakistani national, whose place of residence and initial schooling as well as his joining a banned militant organisation was established by the investigators. Second, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists were imparted training near Thatta, Sindh and launched by sea from there. The training camp was identified and secured by the investigators. The casings of the explosive devices used in Mumbai were recovered from this training camp and duly matched. Third, the fishing trawler used by the terrorists for hijacking an Indian trawler in which they sailed to Mumbai, was brought back to harbour, then painted and concealed. It was recovered by the investigators and connected to the accused. Fourth, the engine of the dinghy abandoned by the terrorists near Mumbai harbour contained a patent number through which the investigators traced its import from Japan to Lahore and then to a Karachi sports shop from where an LeT-linked militant purchased it along with the dinghy. The money trail was followed and linked to the accused who was arrested. Fifth, the ops room in Karachi, from where the operation was directed, was also identified and secured by the investigators. The communications through Voice over Internet Protocol were unearthed. Sixth, the alleged commander and his deputies were identified and arrested. Seventh, a couple of foreign-based financiers and facilitators were arrested and brought to face trial.

After an exchange of multiple investigation dossiers with the Indian police authorities, the trial court was requested to give approval to obtain voice samples of the alleged commander and his deputies for comparison with the recorded voices. The court ruled that the consent of the accused should be obtained. Obviously, the suspects refused. Then a plea was submitted before the sessions court to authorise the investigators to take the voice samples despite the lack of consent. The plea was denied on account of there being no such provision in the Evidence Act or the antiterrorism law applicable at that time. The investigators then went in appeal before the High Court. That appeal, I believe, is still pending. The Fair Trial Act, 2013 caters for admissibility of such technical evidence. However, its application with retrospective effect is a moot point.

The Mumbai case is quite unique: one incident with two jurisdictions and two trials. While the Indians managed to nab Ajmal Kasab and were able to obtain his confession to close the trial, proving conspiracy in a different jurisdiction is more complex and requires a far superior quality of evidence. Therefore, the legal experts from both sides need to sit together rather than sulk and point fingers.

Indian interlocutors, engaged during the talks between the then prime ministers of India and Pakistan in Egypt in 2009, had conceded that the Pakistani investigators had done a professional job in the indictment of seven perpetrators of the attack. However, the Pakistani authorities should not forget that the FIA declared various other facilitators and operatives as fugitives in the case. The trial will not be over with the disposal of those under arrest or on bail. Other missing links need to be uncovered after the absconders’ arrest.

This case will not be over soon.

Are we as a nation prepared to muster the courage to face uncomfortable truths and combat the demons of militancy that haunt our land? That is the question!

The writer is former DG, FIA.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2015

Lots of comments on page too.
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Re: Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

Post by ramana »

He does not mention David Headley urf Daud Gilani's role by name. Its alluded to in point #7.
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Re: Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

Post by SSridhar »

Patni, thanks for posting.
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Re: Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

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Ajit Doval had planned to confront Pakistan on shoddy 26/11 probe during NSA talks - Bharti Jain, ToI
Besides preparing a list of 54 Pakistan-based fugitives wanted for offences committed in India, national security adviser Ajit Doval had intended to confront Islamabad on its shoddy investigation in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks case.

According to sources involved in preparation of the 26/11 dossier for the now-cancelled NSA-level talks, India had meant to tell Islamabad in no uncertain terms that all available evidence was not placed on record in the trial in Pakistan. The dossier detailed how Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which probed the 26/11 case, never made an effort to extend the probe to LeT founder and prime mastermind Hafiz Saeed, who, as per Abu Jundal, an accused held in India, had visited the LeT control room as top commanders there instructed Ajmal Kasab and others on how to go about the mayhem.

Besides, despite India having identified two state actors - Pakistan army officers Major Samir Ali and Major Iqbal - in the 26/11 conspiracy, the FIA never made an effort to locate them or confirm their identity. The two were named by American LeT operative and reconnaissance man for 26/11 attacks David Coleman Headley and his aide Tahawwur Rana during the course of their trial in the US as well as in their interrogation by India's National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Islamabad is yet to respond to India's letters rogatory sent with respect to the Mumbai attacks.

"Our dossier clearly stated that Pakistani investigators had probed the 26/11 case poorly. All evidence, including that presented by India, was not taken on board, which is what had led the court there to grant bail to main accused Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi," an officer said.

"Our fear is that given the shoddy investigation and failure of the prosecution in Pakistan to place all available evidence before the anti-terrorism court, not only Lakhvi but the six others arrested in the case may also walk free," the officer said adding that the dossier for the NSA-level talks would have asked Islamabad to place all the evidence on record and re-arrest Lakhvi.

A key point in the 26/11 dossier prepared for NSA-level talks is the request for voice-samples of not only Lakhvi but also Major Samir Ali, who was present in the LeT control room during the 26/11 attacks.

Recently, former FIA chief Tariq Khosa had, in an article published by a prominent Pakistani daily, admitted that the Mumbai strikes were planned and launched from Pakistan. He said Kasab was a Pakistani who trained with other attackers in Thatta, Sindh, before being launched by sea. Also, he revealed that the LeT control room in Karachi, from where the operation was directed, was identified and secured by the investigators.
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Re: Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

Post by Chandragupta »

Patni wrote: Lots of comments on page too.
80% of the comments are from Indians. Strange. I don't realise why do we start cheering up & dancing whenever any Pakistani accepts their crimes.
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Re: Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

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U.S. bowed to Indian pressure - Vijaita Singh, The Hindu
Intense lobbying by National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval with the American authorities could have led David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, to turn an approver in the case, a senior government official told The Hindu .

Apart from the case being probed by the Mumbai Police, where he has offered to become an approver, Headley is also an accused in the case being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

When contacted, NIA chief Sharad Kumar told The Hindu , “As of now we have no plans to make Headley an approver in our case.” NIA is probing the larger conspiracy behind the case.

Plea bargain

That Headley acted as double agent for the Americans as well as terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is a known fact. After his arrest in 2009 from Chicago airport, Headley entered into a plea bargain with the U.S authorities, which provided him cushion from death penalty and from being extradited to India or Denmark.

A senior official explained, “The plea bargain that he entered with the U.S ensured that he will not be extradited to India to serve the remaining sentence; it never said anything on his presence here in the course of the trial. There was a possibility that he could have been sent to India in future to face the trial. It could have proved troublesome for the Americans as they conveniently ignored his activities in Pakistan and links with LeT.”

Prosecution option

A senior government official claimed that Maharashtra public prosecutor and senior officials of the central intelligence agencies had meetings with the U.S. Department of Justice two months ago, which prompted Headley to become an approver in the case.

When contacted Special Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam denied having met U.S authorities but added, “there are many aspects involving national security, which cannot be disclosed.” Mr. Nikam told The Hindu , “Headley becoming an approver is not the final word. I have put a condition that he ought to answer all the questions posed by us to become an approver.
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Re: Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

Post by Amber G. »

Did not realize that this thread is here..

I have posted a few posts in the other dhaga (Link:< see some posts above and below > which may be of interest and may belong here.. Please take a look.

(If this is a more apt place for such posts, I can x-post links here)

These have been posted before in brf (may be more than once) but if you have not seen these, please do read these Frontline pieces:

The Hidden Intelligence Breakdowns Behind the Mumbai Attacks

and PBS story: The Memoir of an “American Terrorist”
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Re: Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

Post by SSridhar »

‘Gaps’ in Pak. probe into 26/11 - Vijaita Singh, The Hindu
During External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit last week, Pakistan may have assured India that steps were being taken to expedite the early conclusion of the Mumbai attacks trial. But the investigation done by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has glaring gaps, a Union Home Ministry official has said.

A government report says the FIA has not dealt with at least 22 key areas in the 26/11 case. The agency has filed a charge sheet against 27 accused. Seven of them have been in judicial custody and 20 declared proclaimed offenders.

One of the most important aspects flagged by India was that the role of the facilitators of the 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists who launched the attacks have not been investigated. “The FIA needs to identify the facilitators who arranged the stay, training and movement of the 10 terrorists from Lahore to Karachi [from where they left Pakistan by sea to enter India],” a government official said.

The official said the FIA had not investigated at least six new suspects — Nussar Javed, Abu Saeed, Saeed Engineer, Abu Anas, Abu Dujana and Abu Quhafa — whose names cropped up during Indian investigations. India says the conspiracy to commit terrorist acts had been on from 2005 to 2008, whereas the FIA investigated just those during 2007-08.

India had asked Pakistan to examine Faiza Outalha, the ex-wife of David Coleman Headley, a Pakistani of American origin and one of the key conspirators of the 26/11 attacks. India said if Outalha, a Moroccan citizen, was quizzed, it would have helped the FIA get evidence against Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, who planned the attack, in consultation with LeT leader Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, and monitored the progress of training of the terrorists.

A senior government official said that “recce of targets done by Headley and handled by ISI officials Major Iqbal and Major Sameer was an important part of the conspiracy, which had not been investigated yet”.

The official said the FIA investigated only the Karachi part of the conspiracy, when the conspiracy, training and motivation of the LeT module took place in Muzzafarabad, Muridke and Lahore.

Further, setting up of a control room in Karachi, from where the 10 terrorists were guided during the attacks, had not been investigated.
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Re: Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

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26/11 accused used fake stamps to attest ID: Pak witness - PTI
Indian national Fahim Ansari, earlier accused of being an Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT) member and co-conspirator in the 2008 Mumbai attack case, used fake Pakistani official seals to attest his false identity under which he travelled to Pakistan, a government witness told the anti-terrorism court.

“Fake stamps of my department for attestation of the fake computerised national identity card [CNIC] of Hammad Hassan were used,” Sadiq, an employee of the Parliament House, testified in the ATC Islamabad which held the hearing at the Adiala Jail Rawalpindi on Wednesday, according to a court official.

“Subsequently on the same identity, a passport was issued [which was used by Fahim Ansari to travel to Pakistan under the name of Hassan before the attack],” the official told PTI.

To present the record

Mr. Sadiq told the court that he would present the public record in this regard during the next hearing.

The court adjourned the hearing till December 21.

During External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit earlier this month, Pakistan assured India of “steps being taken to expedite the early conclusion” of the Mumbai attack trial, something that India has been pressing for long.

A Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official was also to testify in Wednesday’s hearing but could not reach the court due to a delay in his flight from Karachi.

Travelled to Pak with the name

According to the FIA, the Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES) of Karachi airport shows that Ansari, who has been acquitted by Indian courts, had travelled to Pakistan under the name of Hammad Hassan before the Mumbai attacks.

Ansari allegedly made a map of targets in Mumbai.

In August 2012, India’s Supreme Court upheld the acquittal of Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, the two Indians accused of being co-conspirators in the Mumbai attack.

The trial court and the Bombay High Court, too, gave a clean chit to the duo.

Forged documents

Ansari allegedly obtained a Pakistani passport on November 1, 2007 by using forged documents. The passport was seized from him after his arrest in Uttar Pradesh in another case on February 10, 2008.

The trial against LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Sadiq, Shahid Jamil, Jamil Ahmed and Younas Anjum has been under way since 2009 for their alleged role in the Mumbai attack.

Lakhvi (55) secured bail in December last year and was subsequently released from the Adiala Jail on April 10 after the Lahore High Court set aside the government’s order to detain him under a public security act.
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Re: Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

Post by SSridhar »

Pakistan court refuses voice samples of suspects in 26/11 Mumbai case - PTI
In a fresh setback to the Mumbai attack trial, a Pakistani court has dismissed the government's petition seeking voice samples of 26/11 mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six other suspects in the case.

The prosecution had filed an application in the Islamabad High Court seeking voice samples of the suspects to compare it with the communication intercepted by Indian intelligence and then present it before the anti-terrorism court (ATC) as evidence against the seven suspects in the Mumbai attack case.

The Islamabad High Court on Monday dismissed the petition.


In 2011 and 2015, the issue of obtaining voice samples of Lakhvi had been dismissed by the trial court on the grounds that "no such law exists that allows obtaining of voice sample of an accused".

The prosecution's petition said the Indian intelligence agencies had intercepted communication between the suspects and the terrorists in connection with the Mumbai attack in 2008.

In the recorded intercepts, the suspects are heard instructing the terrorists.

The prosecution lawyers had argued that the samples were essential for concluding the investigation of this high profile case.

The trial court had also rejected another petition of the prosecution requesting the court to declare Ajmal Kasab and Faheem Ansari absconders in order to meet legal formalities.

The prosecution had told the court that unless it declared the two men absconders, the trial against them would remain "inconclusive" as both have been cited as accused in the Mumbai attack case by Indian authorities and that they were also wanted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) that was probing the 26/11 case.

During External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's visit here last month, Pakistan had assured India of "steps being taken to expedite the early conclusion" of the Mumbai attack trial, something that India has been pressing for long.

A trial is underway against them at the ATC since 2009.
See here for a chronology of court drama in Pakistan
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Re: Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

Post by SSridhar »

X-post from Daoud Gilani thread.
Not admissible in Pak. court: Lakhvi’s lawyer - Vijaita Singh, The Hindu
On a day when LeT operative David Coleman Headley deposed in a Mumbai court through a video link from a U.S. prison, the lawyer of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, termed the proceedings a “sham” and said it “would not affect the trial against his client in Pakistan.”

Raja Rizwan Abbasi, counsel for Lakhvi, told The Hindu on the phone that Lakhvi was with his family in Okara, Pakistan, and was involved in “social welfare” now. {So, what was he doing before?} “It is a known fact that Headley was an agent of the U.S. and he was working for them. Why did the U.S authorities take 7-8 years to make this proposition to the Indian authorities to make him an approver? Whatever he says in the Indian court will not be admissible in a Pakistani court because in that case Headley will have to come here, stay in a Pakistani prison and then depose against Lakhvi,” Mr. Abbasi said.
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Re: Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

Post by SSridhar »

26/11 case: India may ask Pakistan to seek Headley’s deposition in its court
India may ask Pakistan to seek deposition of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative David Coleman Headley through video conferencing before its court, where the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case is being tried, to gather more evidence so that those involved in the incident could be punished.

As the Pakistani-American terrorist talked about ISI's "financial, military and moral support" to LeT, Jaishe-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen in his deposition to a Mumbai court, there is a possibility of India asking Pakistan to take a similar initiative to ensure production of Headley before the court in Pakistan where the 26/11 trial has been going on.

"It is one of the actions which could be taken. A decision has to be taken at the highest level," a senior government official said. Since Pakistan is in denial on the evidence provided by India so far, Pakistan should speak to the US for Headley's testimony through video conferencing to get first-hand evidence, the official said. {Pakistan will claim that its laws do not allow testimony over video-conferencing. End of story}

The trial of the Mumbai terror attack case in Pakistan is moving at a very slow pace with frequent disruption and change of judges.

In his deposition before a Mumbai court, Headley gave out details about 26/11 attacks and his role in it.

While testifying via videolink from the US, Headley said he was working for Pakistan army and ISI besides the LeT and that he knew about ISI official Brigadier Riyaz being the handler of LeT commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi who was a key man responsible for the November 26, 2008, attacks in Mumbai.

He also said that LeT had planned an attack at a conference of Indian defence scientists at Taj Mahal Hotel a year before the 26/11 strikes and had even prepared its dummy.

But the plan was dropped because of logistical reasons, like difficulty in smuggling in weapons and personal and failure to know the schedule of the meet, he said.

Headley, who had visited India seven times to scout for targets, said he had also conducted a recce of the famous Siddhivinayak Temple and Naval air station.
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Re: Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

Post by Pulikeshi »

SSridhar wrote: Pakistan should speak to the US for Headley's testimony through video conferencing to get first-hand evidence, the official said. {Pakistan will claim that its laws do not allow testimony over video-conferencing. End of story}
But it is completely legal -- sharia complaint -- to talaq over video conference? :-? :mrgreen:
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26/11 case: Pakistan court orders deposition of Indian witnesses - PTI
The Pakistani anti-terrorism court holding the Mumbai attack trial has ordered the Federal Investigation Agency to present all 24 Indian witnesses before it so that their statements can be recorded, an order which could further delay proceedings in the high-profile case.

The Anti-Terrorism Court in Islamabad, which is holding the trial of the seven accused including Mumbai attack mastermind and LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, in its hearing on Wednesday at Adiala Jail Rawalpindi also directed that the boats used by Ajmal Kasab and others should be brought back from India and made case property.

"The trial court has ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director general to present all 24 Indian witnesses in the court for recording of their statements. Besides, he also ordered to bring (to Pakistan) the boat(s) used by Ajmal Kasab as it is a case property and should be duly examined," a court official told PTI.

The official said the interior ministry will write to the foreign ministry in this regard.

He said the statements of four key Indian witnesses recorded by the Pakistani commission in 2012 were not admissible in the trial court as the Indian government had not allowed their cross-examination. {Then, why did the Pakistani commission come to Mumbai and that too after much drama with postponements et al? Didn't they know this simple law?}

The 8-member Pakistani judicial commission had recorded the statement of Senior Inspector Ramesh Mahale, who had investigated the 26/11 attack case.

The commission had also recorded the statements of two doctors who conducted autopsies of 26/11 victims and the nine slain terrorists, before winding up its proceedings.

Magistrate RV Sawant-Waghule who had taken on record Kasab's confession soon after his arrest had also recorded his statement.

The judicial commission had visited India on behalf of the Pakistani anti-terrorism court (ATC).

The statements of the Indian witnesses were supposed to be used as evidence in the trial.

However, Lakhvi's lawyer had challenged the commission's proceedings because chief metropolitan magistrate SS Shinde did not let its members cross-examine witnesses.

The trial court here subsequently declared the proceedings of the commission illegal.

Pakistani authorities have arrested seven LeT members involved with the planning of the attacks.

Apart from Lakhvi, other arrested LeT men are Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Sadiq, Shahid Jamil, Jamil Ahmed and Younas Anjum. A trial is underway against them at the ATC since 2009.

Lakhvi, 55, secured bail in December last year and was subsequently released from Adiala Jail on April 10 after the Lahore High Court set aside the government's order to detain him under a public security act.
See here for a chronology of court drama in Pakistan
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Re: Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

Post by svenkat »

MK Narayanan on Headleys deposition
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-things-headley-left-unsaid/article8249373.ece?homepage=true
Again, in reply to a leading question from the prosecutor, Headley also identified Ishrat Jahan as a terrorist belonging to the LeT (since her death in a police encounter in Gujarat in 2004, there had been many attempts to portray her as an innocent victim). Intelligence agencies, however, were aware that she was an LeT operative, and a key figure in a carefully planned LeT operation. The operational trail went from Pakistan to Dubai, Kochi, Kashmir and finally Ahmedabad. Headley provided neither names nor any details regarding this operation. His sole reason for identifying Ishrat as an LeT operative, it would seem, was to give a propaganda advantage to the LeT. The most glaring omission in Headley’s deposition was his unwillingness to identify Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, currently languishing in an Indian prison.
Reading between the lines of his testimony, Headley’s jihadi leanings are obvious. Answering one of Mr. Nikam’s questions, he identifies with jihad and the need to fight against enemies of Islam such as India. His jihadi belief was, no doubt, greatly strengthened during the years he spent in LeT and other training camps in Pakistan, but it would be a mistake to ignore the ‘Afghan effect’. Few international volunteers actually fought in Afghanistan; most worked, or remained, in Pakistan. From these volunteers have emerged several of today’s jihadis. History today is aware that among such elements was a pious young Saudi engineer, Osama bin Laden. Headley’s case is thus very instructive for us. Training camps that programmed Headley are well situated to produce many others to wage jihad against India.

Professor Christopher Andrew, who has written a landmark history of the British domestic counter-intelligence and security agency MI5, coined the term Historical Attention Span Deficit Disorder (HASDD) to describe the inability of today’s policymakers and intelligence specialists to situate any significant development within a broader historical context. He was speaking specifically about the world’s response to the emergence of transnational Islamist extremism as a security threat. In effect, what he suggested was that there is a general tendency to lose sight of what has transpired in the past. The Headley interlude is a reminder to us that we, as a nation, should not fall victim to HASDD.
He has avoided mention of the many hidden moles he is certain to have left behind from his several visits to India. Identifying an already known Rahul Bhatt means little. Not an inkling has been given by him about the nature of the terrorist trail from Pakistan to Dubai to Ahmedabad and of the many links in this chain. Headley is significantly silent about the ‘Karachi Project’, by which disaffected Indian Muslims were inveigled into becoming part of the Indian Mujahideen.
An inherent weakness in combating global terror at present is the absence of honest collaboration and cooperation among intelligence agencies the world over. What passes for cooperation today is an over-simplified framework of statements accompanied by limited follow-up actions. India was a victim of this kind of ‘faint-hearted’ cooperation in the case of the 26/11 attacks. The U.S., and to a lesser extent the U.K., had important information with them about a possible attack on Mumbai, having penetrated Zarar Shah’s computer. The U.S. possibly had more additional information via the Headley link, but seemed to play down his involvement with the LeT due to other ‘operational considerations’. The net result was that all the information available was not shared, and what was shared was inadequate to save the lives of over 160 people.
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Pak. chief of 26/11 prosecution loses security - PTI, The Hindu
Pakistan has withdrawn the security of prosecution chief in the Mumbai attack case following which he has refused to appear for future hearings, the latest in a series of hurdles in the high-profile case in which the government has been accused of using delaying tactics.

The government has given no reason regarding withdrawing of the security of Chaudhry Azhar, who is also a special prosecutor of the Federal Investigation Agency.

“Yes, the government has withdrawn my security and I will not attend the Mumbai case hearing [till security is provided to me],” Mr. Azhar said on Sunday.

He said he was facing threats and could not attend the court proceedings of the case without security.

Mr. Azhar assumed the charge of the chief prosecution in the Mumbai case in May, 2013.— PTI
See here for a chronology of court drama in Pakistan
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Pakistan government challenges rejection of plea to examine LeT boat - PTI
Pakistan government today challenged in the Islamabad High Court the rejection of the 2008 Mumbai attack case prosecution's plea by the trial court to form a commission to examine the boat used by LeT terrorists to reach the Indian coast.

"We have challenged the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Islamabad's decision to reject our plea regarding formation of a commission to examine the boat - Al-Fauz - used by alleged terrorists of Mumbai attacks in the Islamabad High Court," " Prosecution Chief Chaudhry Azhar told PTI.

He said the court office would fix the date of hearing.

According to the petition, the boat should be made "case property".

"A government commission should be formed to examine the boat which is in custody of the authorities in port city of Karachi is an essential part of evidence against the seven accused" against whom the trial is underway, it says.


The ATC on January 13 had dismissed the plea of the prosecution to form a commission to examine the boat.

Al-Fauz is in the custody of the Pakistani authorities in the port city of Karachi, from where the 10 militants, armed with AK-47 assault rifles and hand grenades, had left for India to carry out the Mumbai attack in 2008.

According to the Federal Investigation Agency, the 10 militants - armed with AK-47 assault rifles and hand grenades - used three boats including Al Fauz to reach Mumbai from the port city of Karachi to carry out the attack in 2008.

It said the security agencies had also traced the shop and its owner from where the culprits bought the engine and the boat while a bank, and a money exchange company were also traced which were used for the transaction of money.

The 10 LeT militants had left Karachi on the boat on November 23, 2008. En route, they hijacked another boat, killing four of its crew. They allegedly forced the vessel's captain to take them close to the India shores. The captain was killed when the vessel reached Mumbai's coast.

On November 26 that year, the gunmen left their vessel, moored off the coast of Mumbai in inflatable boats and docked in an area of fishing shanties. They broke up into smaller groups to carry out the attack that killed 166 people.

Nine of the gunmen were killed during the attacks, while the lone survivor identified as Ajmal Kasab was executed in India in November, 2012.

Pakistani authorities have arrested seven LeT members involved with the planning of the attack including the terrorist group's operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, said to be the mastermind of the Mumbai attack.

The other arrested LeT men are Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Sadiq, Shahid Jamil, Jamil Ahmed and Younas Anjum.

Lakhvi, 55, has been on bail since last April and is enjoying his freedom at an undisclosed location.
See here for a chronology of court drama in Pakistan
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X-post from STFU-TSP thread.

Shuja Pasha admitted ISI’s role in Mumbai attack: ex-CIA chief - PTI, The Hindu
Soon after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack the then chief of Pakistan’s ISI conceded that some of the powerful spy agency’s retired members were engaged in training those involved in the heinous crime but refused to take action, a former CIA chief has said in a new book.

In his latest book ‘Playing to the Edge’, Michael Hayden, the former CIA Director, expressed his deep frustration of the “duplicity” of the Pakistani leadership when it came to taking action against terrorist groups in particular al-Qaeda, Taliban, LeT and the Haqqani network.

Arguing that the Pakistan Army is built to fight against India and not terrorists, the top leadership in the country, in particularly those from its military in the past one decade, have repeatedly expressed its inability to take on the terrorist groups in the tribal regions as desired by the U.S., he wrote.

Referring to the Mumbai terrorist attack, Mr. Hayden, who was the CIA chief till 2009, said it was very clear that there seemed to be so many Pakistani fingerprints on the atrocity.


“I began routinely harassing my counterpart in Pakistan, now Ahmed Shuja Pasha [the former director general of Military Operations, the Pakistan army’s top operational post], on the phone, urging him to get to the bottom of the attack and to discuss it frankly with us,” he wrote.

“We had no doubt that the attack was the work of LeT, and there was mounting evidence that preparation for and direction of the attack took place from within Pakistan, where LeT enjoyed the protection and support of ISI,” Mr. Hayden said.

Pasha, who had come to ISI only a few weeks earlier and had no previous intelligence experience, came to the U.S. on Christmas Day and spent most of the next afternoon in his office.

“He worked carefully from notes. His investigation had revealed that some former ISI members were involved with Lashkar-e-Taiba [no surprise there]. Pasha admitted that these unspecified [and still uncaptured] retirees may have engaged in some broad training of the attackers, but he was characteristically vague about any detailed direction the attackers had gotten during the attack via cell phone from Pakistan,” Mr. Hayden wrote in the book.

“I took to passing sufficiently sanitised intelligence to Pasha on what we believed was going on in order to try to goad him into action. If he knew that we knew...perhaps we could get some movement. We didn’t have a whole lot of success,” Mr. Hayden wrote.

Narrating an incident when the then Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf refused to fill up gas in the airplane that flew him to Islamabad, where he had gone to press him to take action against terrorists, Mr. Hayden wrote: “One more bit of evidence that these guys really were the ally from hell“.

The crew had forgotten their government credit card— you can’t make this stuff up— and the Pakistanis wouldn’t budge, he wrote.

Mr. Musharraf refused to take action, despite some crucial evidence being provided to him.
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Pakistan asks India to send 24 witnesses to depose in 26/11 trial - The Hindu
Pakistan has asked India to send all the 24 Indian witnesses to depose before the anti-terrorism court holding the Mumbai attack trial, the chief prosecutor in the high-profile case said on Sunday.

“The Foreign Ministry has written to the Indian government asking it to send all 24 Indian witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the trial court in the Mumbai attack case,” Prosecution Chief Chaudhry Azhar told PTI.

He said the Anti-Terrorism Court Islamabad has already completed recording the statements of all Pakistani witnesses in the case which has been underway in the country for more than six years.

“Now the ball is in India’s court. The Indian government should send all Indian witnesses of the Mumbai case to Pakistan to record their statements so that the trial could further move ahead,” said Mr. Azhar, who is also a special prosecutor of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Last month, the court, which is holding the trial of the seven accused including Mumbai attack mastermind and LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, had ordered the FIA to present all 24 Indian witnesses in court to record their statements.

It had also ordered to bring back to Pakistan the boats used by Ajmal Kasab and other militants on the grounds that it is case property and should be duly examined.

The 8-member Pakistani judicial commission had visited India on behalf of the Pakistani anti-terrorism court (ATC).

The statements of the Indian witnesses were supposed to be used as evidence in the trial.

However, Lakhvi’s lawyer had challenged the commission’s proceedings because Chief Metropolitan Magistrate S S Shinde did not let its members cross-examine witnesses.

The trial court here subsequently declared the proceedings of the commission illegal.

Pakistani authorities have arrested seven LeT members involved with the planning of the 2008 Mumbai attack.

Apart from Lakhvi, other arrested LeT men are Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Sadiq, Shahid Jamil, Jamil Ahmed and Younas Anjum. A trial is underway against them at the ATC since 2009.

Lakhvi (55), secured bail in December 2014 and was subsequently released from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on April 10, 2015, after the Lahore High Court set aside the government’s order to detain him under a public security act.

Six other accused are lodged in the Adiala Jail for over six years in connection with planning and executing the Mumbai attack in which 166 people were killed.
See here for a chronology of court drama in Pakistan
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They can talk to the witnesses by video conference. No need for Karachi visit as they could be killed.
Or alternatively they can send the prosecutor to record the statements in India. Bring along a judge to ensure all process was followed.
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India may allow Pak. to examine 26/11 witnesses - Kallol Bhattacherjee, The Hindu
Continuing with its flexible policy on security cooperation with Pakistan, the government will “consider” it if Pakistan makes a request to cross-examine Indian witnesses in the 26/11 terror attacks case.

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court hearing the Mumbai attacks case asked the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Wednesday to produce all the 24 witnesses connected with the attack.

The court in Islamabad is holding the trial of the seven accused, including Mumbai attack mastermind and LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi. On Wednesday, it also wanted the boats used by the attackers to be produced in court.

“The list of the witnesses to be examined by the Judicial Commission had been agreed upon by the two governments, as were the terms of reference of the Judicial Commission. If and when we receive a formal request from Pakistan conveying details of these 24 witnesses, we will consider it,” Vikas Swarup, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said on Thursday.

Officials, however, told The Hindu that India’s willingness to allow cross examination of witnesses by the Pakistani court should not be interpreted as a move to send all of them across to Islamabad for a hearing. There were various other ways to cross-examine witnesses.Pakistani authorities can try video-conferencing. So finally, there may not be any need for the witnesses to travel to Pakistan,” an official told The Hindu .
Pakistan would reject video-conferenecing claiming that their laws do not permit that.
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Old news but posting this here for archiving.

'HATE PREACHER' RABBANI INCITING PEOPLE TO CARRY OUT BLASTS, COURT TOLD
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/othe ... 999186.cms
By ANAND HOLLA | Mar 10, 2010, 04.00 AM IST

Rabbani was booked by the Ghatkopar police in January for allegedly hurting the sentiments of Barelvi Sunni Muslims by making abusive remarks against saint Khwaja Garib Nawaaz, whose shrine at Ajmer is India’s most famous Sufi shrine.

On Tuesday, Sessions Judge R G Avchat rejected his anticipatory bail plea.

Before the order, lawyer Rizwan Merchant presented a VCD containing another inflammatory speech in which Rabbani allegedly asks his followers to carry out bomb blasts to demolish dargahs and temples.

“These VCDs are manufactured in Bangalore, but are being distributed by Rabbani’s organisation all over India and hence his custodial interrogation is essential,” Merchant told the court.

Merchant also filed a plea stating, “Rabbani’s grave provocation to demolish and bulldoze dargahs and pull off tombs, if need be by blasting them with bombs, is suggestive of his proposed subversive activities in India.”

The lawyer said, “If this is the extent of Rabbani’s views, he should also be probed for his role in the recent Ajmer Sharif blast.”

Another lawyer, S K Halwasia, also submitted some material from the Internet that apparently indicates Rabbani has links with alleged LeT operative David Headley and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

The court took both the lawyers’ contentions on record, and granted Rabbani interim protection from arrest for two more days so that he can appeal before the HC.

Rabbani’s lawyer, Sudeep Pasbola, said he is unaware of the VCD or other revelations, and that they have already moved the HC.
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Link between Paris and Mumbai attacks? - AFP
Austrian prosecutors said on Monday they are probing a possible link between a Pakistani held in Salzburg in connection with last November’s terror assaults in Paris and the 2008 attacks in Mumbai.

“Leads pointing to this are being looked into,” prosecutors in Salzburg said, adding however that the identity of the Pakistani suspect, who has been in custody since December in the western Austrian city, has not been confirmed.


“Wide-ranging investigations on this question, among others, are ongoing, although the public prosecutors’ office has been waiting for information on this from Pakistan since December 2015,” they said in a statement.

LeT bomb-maker

A source in Paris and The Sunday Times said that the man is thought to be a bomb maker for Pakistani extremist organisations Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).

The 34-year-old was arrested in Austria in December along with an Algerian. French investigators suspect that the Islamic State (IS) sent both men to Europe to carry out attacks.


Austrian authorities said in February that they are believed to have been in the same boat bringing around 200 migrants to Greece as two men involved in the Paris atrocities.

While those involved in the attacks were able to travel onwards, the pair were held up by Greek authorities for 25 days because they were carrying fake Syrian passports.

They then arrived in Salzburg at the end of November — after the Paris killings — and Austrian police arrested them at a centre for migrants on December 10. — AFP
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India now wants to try Rana - Vijaita Singh, The Hindu
In a change in strategy, India has sought to charge Tahawwur Rana — a close associate of David Coleman Headley and who is also charged in the 2008 Mumbai attacks — for conspiring to attack the National Defence College here and Chabad Houses (Jewish religious centres) in various cities.

A fresh request for extradition of Rana, who gave Headley a base in Mumbai, has been sent to the U.S., a senior government official said.

The National Investigation Agency’s decision comes after its failure to get the custody of Headley, conspirator in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.


Rana is serving a 14-year term in the U.S. for giving material support to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), but he has not entered into a plea bargain, as Headley has done. “Rana is serving a sentence for aiding the LeT in the 26/11 attacks, but we have renewed our plea to the U.S. authorities for access on the ground that he was also part of the conspiracy to attack the National Defence College in Delhi and Chabad Houses in several cities. He has not been held guilty of this crime in the U.S., and this will in no way affect the double jeopardy clause … We have sent a fresh extradition request,” the official said.

The double jeopardy clause in the U.S. law prohibits punishment for the same crime twice.

Rana, a Chicago businessman, helped Headley open an immigration company in Mumbai, and this served as a cover for him to conduct reconnaissance of targets that were attacked on November 26, 2008.

Rana, a school friend of Headley in Pakistan, was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to 14 years in prison for providing material support to the LeT, which was behind the 2008 attacks.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Headley visited India again in March 2009 to conduct more surveillance, including of the NDC in Delhi and Chabad Houses.

Forgery case

“We also have a case of forgery against Rana and have informed the U.S. authorities of it. He had opened the immigration centre in Mumbai for Headley on fake documents,” the official said.

Headley had entered into a plea bargain with the U.S and is deposing as a witness before a Mumbai court in a case against Zabiuddin Ansari, alias Abu Jundal, a key man who was present in the control room set up in Karachi to guide the 10 LeT terrorists who entered India through the sea.
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Karthik S wrote:I remember Modi saying in aap ki adalat: pakistan ko uski basha mein samjhana padega. This is not that basha.
I distinctly remember that interview and these were the kind of words which gave me a glimmer of hope about Modi.

He had also vehemently said that 'Pakistan humko sataa raha hai, US, UN please aake humko bachao, is tarah se US ko love letter likhenge kya? Pakistan ko apni bhasha mein samjhana padega."

English translation: Pakistan is giving us sleepless nights. Should we beg to US and UK and complain that see Pakistan is doing this to us. Should we write them a love letter and sob that we are being troubled. (referring to the govt's policy then. We should teach pakistan a lesson in their own language in which they understand.
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The Twitter blogger Dr Gaurav Pradhan says he will publish tomorrow tweets on #IsharatJahan case and links Headley and Rahul Bhatt and the journalists in India.

So watch the space.
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26/11 planners ‘our people’, said then ISI chief - Suhasini Haidar, The Hindu
The planners of the 26/11 attacks were “our people” but it wasn’t “our operation”, the then-ISI chief Gen. Shuja Pasha had admitted shortly after the Mumbai attacks in 2008, says former Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S. Husain Haqqani. The revelation, which appears in a forthcoming book on India-Pakistan relations, recounts the visit by General Pasha to Washington on December 24-25, 2008, where he made the startling admission.

At the end of his meetings with his CIA counterpart Gen. Michael Hayden, General Pasha had reportedly visited Mr. Haqqani at the ambassador’s residence. “Pasha said to me ‘ Log hamaray thay, operation hamara nahin thha’ ,” Mr. Haqqani writes in the book — India vs Pakistan: Why Can’t We Just Be Friends? {Even that "operation hamara nahin thha" is a lie. The planning, training and execution all involved serving Pakistani army & navy officers. How can PA/ISI deny that? They cannot disown their serving men just like they usually disown their dead army men and jihadi terrorists, can they?}

Speaking to The Hindu over the telephone from Washington, Mr. Haqqani said Gen. Pasha had also told Gen. Hayden that “retired military officers and retired intelligence officers” had been involved in the planning of the attacks.

The conversation between the chiefs of the ISI and CIA has been recounted in three books earlier — by then U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice in her memoirs, Bob Woodward in his book “ Obama Wars ” and earlier this year by Gen. Hayden himself in his autobiography, Playing to The Edge . However, this is the first time Gen. Pasha’s words corroborating the ISI link have been recorded by a Pakistani official.

No prosecution


According to Mr. Haqqani, the link was confirmed by the fact that Pakistan’s government never prosecuted the accused.

“The fact that we never pursued the case against the accused [officers] in the 26/11 case despite all the evidence that had been provided: not just by India, but by the U.S., by the American NSA including intercepts of conversations during the attacks, that pointed a finger at us, at the Pakistan government,” he said.


According to Mr. Haqqani, who faced charges of treason in Pakistan in 2011 after the military accused him of writing a “Memo” to the U.S. government on the Osama Bin Laden killing, the Army’s denial of any link to the 26/11 attacks was of a piece with their stand on other strikes “all the way from the 1980s to Dawood Ibrahim.”
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ramana wrote:The Twitter blogger Dr Gaurav Pradhan says he will publish tomorrow tweets on #IsharatJahan case and links Headley and Rahul Bhatt and the journalists in India.

So watch the space.
ramana, what happened here? Did he do so?
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No haven't seen them But then I don't follow him.

Will ask our sena.
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SS, you need to get on twitter. He answered in a long #24 tweets and linked them.
Once some one posts here we can discuss.

I think the one who should be questioned is Mahesh Bhatt.
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Venug, Thanks.
SS, Read above.
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venug, ramana, thanks for the efforts.
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SSridhar wrote:venug, ramana, thanks for the efforts.
SSji, you should frequent twitter. Follow the right handles even if you don't tweet. JMT. There is a lot of news (not counting the infinite noise) at high velocity getting exchanged.
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26/11 Mumbai attack case: Lakhvi, others to be charged for abetment to murder - PTI
LeT operations commander Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi and six others accused in the 2008 Mumbai attack case will be individually charged for the abetment to murder of each of the 166 people who died in the carnage, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court ruled today.

"The seven suspects will be charged individually for the abetment to murder of each victim of Mumbai attack case," a senior court official said, quoting the verdict of the trial court.

The official told PTI that the court, however, did not allow cross examination of the suspects in this regard.

The prosecution had filed an application in the ATC Islamabad some two months ago requesting it to make amendment in the charges against the suspects in abetment to murder of each individual in the carnage.


The trial court in March last had reserved the verdict after the prosecution and defence lawyers completed their arguments on the plea that amendment in the charges against all seven suspects in abetment to murder of each individual in Mumbai attack should be made.

166 people, including six Americans, were killed and more than 300 injured in the attack in November 2008 by 10 Pakistani terrorists.

The prosecution was of the view that it was seeking amendment to the changes "for further strengthening the case against the suspects".

It had also pleaded for including the post-mortem reports of those killed in the attack. The prosecution said India should be asked to send the post-mortem reports of each victim of Mumbai attack while the defence lawyers opposed it.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai attack case has faced inordinate delay as no proceedings were held for the previous seven consecutive hearings. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for May 25.

The Pakistani authorities are blaming India for the delay in the case, saying it cannot move further till the Indian government sends witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the case.

"The seven consecutive hearings of the case were adjourned without any proceedings because the Pakistani government is still awaiting its counterpart's response about sending (Indian) witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the case," the court official said.


The foreign ministry of Pakistan had written to the Indian government about three months ago asking it to send all 24 Indian witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the trial court in Mumbai attacks case.

According to prosecution lawyers, the trial court had already completed recording the statements of all (Pakistani) witnesses in the case which has been underway in the country for more than six years.


"Now the ball is in India's court. The Indian government should send all Indian witnesses of the Mumbai case to Pakistan to record their statements so that the trial could further move ahead," a prosecution lawyer said.

Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum are accused of abetment to murder, attempted murder, planning and executing the Mumbai attacks.

Lakhvi is living in undisclosed location after he got released from jail on bail a year ago. The other six suspects are in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi.
See here for a chronology of court drama in Pakistan
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Pakistan drops charges against 26/11 accused, says no proof - Omer Farooq Khan, ToI
Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has dropped charges against an accused in the 26/11 Mumbai attack case citing a lack of evidence.

Local media reported on Thursday that FIA submitted a chargesheet before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) and placed the suspect, Sufiyan Zafar, in the second column, which means that no evidence was found against him. But the prosecution told the court that Zafar, a suspected financier of the Mumbai attack, is still being investigated and ordered FIA to submit a separate challan to the court on September 22.

Zafar was arrested last month on a charge of financing the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in November, 2008. FIA documents revealed that Zafar, a former activist of the now banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, had provided financial assistance to other suspects in the case. The chargesheet against him mentioned that he had transferred Rs 14,800 into a suspect's account.

He was declared a proclaimed offender in 2011 when the ATC indicted seven people, including Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, a key planner, facilitator and executor of the Mumbai attacks.


Waseem Ranjha, FIA's deputy director (legal), informed the court that they were interrogating Zafar in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail.
See here for a chronology of court drama in Pakistan
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26/11: No cognisance of role by LeT and ISI yet - Snam Saigal, The Hindu
It has been eight years since the November 26 terror attacks in Mumbai and eight months after David Headley, a Pakistani American, deposed in court on the role of members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) behind the attacks, but no cognisance has been taken of this.

Talking to The Hindu , special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said, “We have got the evidence about Pakistani army officers’ involvement with the LeT and this has been substantiated by email correspondence between Headley and LeT.”

The Hindu is in possession of the relevant emails exchanged between Headley and the LeT and the ISI.


The trial against Syed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, one of the handlers in the 26/11 attacks currently lodged in Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail, is ongoing. Mr. Nikam said, “One of the purposes of examining Headley in Abu Jundal’s trial was to get information out of him. Headley gave evidence with email correspondence and said that he was working on behalf of LeT and, at the same time, ISI.”

Headley has exposed how Hafiz Muhammad Saeed [co-founder of the LeT and the chief or amir of the Jama’at-ud-Da’wah) and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi [a top leader of the LeT] were saved by Pakistani authorities, as has been reflected by the emails, which were sent by the Lashkar-e-Taiba operative to Headley. It is clearly mentioned that ‘Big Uncle’ was used [as a reference] for Saeed and ‘Small Uncle’ was used [as a reference] for Lakhvi,” Mr. Nikam added.
SSridhar
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Re: Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

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India makes fresh bid to get Headley, Rana = Vijaita Singh, The Hindu
India has made a fresh request to the U.S. for the extradition of David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Rana, wanted for their roles in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

Andrew McCabe, Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), visited India earlier this month and met senior officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The NIA, which is probing the conspiracy behind the 2008 attacks, raised with Mr. McCabe the pending requests for extradition of Headley and Rana. The NIA told him that its multiple requests for the custody of Rana went unanswered.


Revising its demand, the NIA told Mr. McCabe that though Rana was convicted by a U.S. court of the charge of providing material support to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which was behind the attacks, he had not been tried for offences, registered in India, of forgery and criminal breach of trust.

The ‘double jeopardy’ clause in the U.S. law prohibits punishment for the same crime twice. So, last year, India renewed its attempt at Rana’s custody on the ground that he was involved in the planning of an attack on the National Defence College (NDC) in Delhi and Chabad Houses (Jewish religious centres) in several cities.

Not tried in India

“Since Rana has already been convicted by a U.S court, he cannot be tried for the same crime twice. We told the FBI official that we also have a case of forgery and criminal breach of trust registered against him, and he has not been tried for these crimes,” said a senior official of the Union Home Ministry.

Mr. McCabe assured the NIA that its request would be looked into.


Headley has been sentenced to 35 years in prison by a U.S court, and the ‘double jeopardy’ clause is one of the biggest impediments for the NIA to get him extradited.

NIA officials said they were hopeful of securing his custody because the U.S investigation mostly centred on the death of six American nationals in the attacks and a large number of Indians were also killed.

Rana, a school friend of Headley, is serving a 14-year term in the U.S. for providing material support to the LeT, but has not entered a plea bargain as Headley did. Rana was arrested in 2009. Though a U.S. District Court sentenced him in 2013, his jail term would include the period he had already served in prison.

Rana, a Chicago businessman, helped Headley open an immigration firm in Mumbai with forged documents. It acted as a cover for him to do reconnaissance of targets that were attacked on November 26, 2008.
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