Pakistan provided “safe haven” to Zabiuddin Ansari
Even as Indian investigators continue to grill Syed Zabiuddin Ansari to join missing pieces of the 26/11 conspiracy, Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Friday asked Pakistan to cooperate and hand over “state actors” and other terrorists involved in the Mumbai terror attack case.
“The terrorists who planned and carried out attacks in Mumbai were trained in several places [in Pakistan], infrastructure was provided to them [to carry out attacks], a control room was set up…the logical inference we have to make is that all this could not have happened without state support. Pakistan should admit this,” Mr. Chidambaram told journalists here.
“Safe haven”
Pointing out that Pakistan provided a “safe haven” to Zabiuddin Ansari, the Home Minister said he agreed with Pakistan Senior Adviser on Interior Rehman Malik’s statement that the “key operative” behind the Mumbai attacks was radicalised in India.
“I admit that. Equally, Pakistan should admit that Zabiuddin Ansari did go to Pakistan; that he was part of the group which trained and prepared [Ajmal] Kasab and nine others; that he was in the control room and one of the masterminds and handlers of the attackers. Just as we admit the facts Pakistan too should admit the facts,” he said.
Asking Pakistan to hand over voice samples of the “others” who were present in the Karachi-based control room, the Minister said among those present there were Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, who India believed was the mastermind behind 26/11.
Referring to the support provided to Zabiuddin Ansari in Pakistan, Home Secretary R.K. Singh said Pakistan should also admit that it gave him a passport and two identity cards. He was living in Saudi Arabia as a Pakistani, Mr. Singh added.
Mr. Chidambaram said Zabiuddin Ansari’s interrogation revealed that he was assigned the key responsibility of selecting 10 terrorists, including Ajmal Kasab, to carry out the attacks. He provided them intensive training and trained them in customs followed by Mumbaikars, besides playing an important role in the control room. “It is only when his interrogation is completed we will come to know who gave what support,” Mr. Chidambaram said without giving any further details.
How Zabiuddin was apprehended
Mr. Chidambaram said once Indian agencies came to know that one of the wanted persons in the Mumbai terror attack case had left Pakistan, we tracked him to Saudi Arabia. “But establishing his identity took us some time. Once we succeeded in doing that, we persuaded ‘everyone concerned’ and apprehended him...Final conclusion is that we tracked him, we identified him and we apprehended him,” he said without elaborating further.
Denying that there was any rift with the State police in seeking custody of Zabiuddin Ansari, Mr. Chidambaram said he was a suspect/accused in at least three other cases — the Ahmedabad Railway station blast case of February, 2006; the Aurangabad arms haul case of May 2006 and the German bakery blast case in Pune.
“Currently, the Delhi police and other investigation agencies are jointly interrogating Zabiuddin Ansari. In due course, he will be made available to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Mumbai and the Maharashtra police…I have told Maharashtra Chief Minister about this. He will also be interrogated by the Gujarat Police in the Ahmedabad blast case,” he clarified.
David Coleman Headley
Mr. Chidambaram further said India would discuss with the U.S. authorities the issue of extraditing Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Headley, who had recced the Mumbai terror attack targets on behalf of LeT.
Expressing the hope that Headley would get “long sentence” in the U.S. after being convicted in 26/11 case, Mr. Chidambaram said Indian agencies had already interrogated Headley in the U.S. “I think the further question is whether we will get further access to Headley, whether he would be extradited to India...These are matters to be discussed with the U.S. authorities,” he added. Headley initially worked with one of the U.S. government agencies before defecting to Pakistan and becoming an LeT operative.
Keywords: 26/11 attacks, Mumbai attacks, Zabiuddin Ansari arrest, Abu Hamza, Abu Jundal, cross-border terrorism
Can't the media, print and electronic, think of a word other than "grilled" to indicate that the investigators subjected the accused to incessant and hard questioning?
Pakistan is indeed a troubled state. Pakistan Interior Minister has audacity to say that they have not issued any Passport to Jindal and any criminal travelling on a fake Pakistani passport cannot be a Pakistani. Indirectly he is admitting that Criminals who have taken shelter in Pakistan are being issued Pakistani Passport and subsequently can say if he is caught that the passport is fake. In that analogy Dawood Ibrahim who is still in Pakistan continues to be sheltered by Pakistan on a fake Passport. The Minister everytime he utters something is pure bundle of white lies. Pakistan need to be handled by the world community sternly and with impunity to see that all the terrorists are bundled out of this troubled nations to their respective nation to face trial and get due punishment.
what would we do of them? Feed like Kassab?
Yeah right! Chidambaram will ask Pak, and they will gladly hand over
"state actors", thus admitting "state guilt" in supporting terror
against India. What a joke!
The Home Minister is making contracting remarks, he hopes David Headley will be extradited to India but also Expresses the hope that Headley would get “long sentence” in the U.S.
The Minister very well knows that India bent backwards to accept the US laws and never fully pursues this modern terrorist.
And speaking of pakistan, this country is beyond repair, it is one thing for a terrorist to create mayhem but a recent article in The Hindu speaks of how a five star general started bragging to a British Minister how his country can launch Nuclear Missiles in 6 minutes on India, as if its a honourable and a noble thing to say.
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