Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Sunday blamed Indian security agencies for their “failure” to prevent the Mumbai terror attack and alleged that Indian non-state actors were involved in the massacre.
Mr. Malik also said had there been interaction between Pakistan and India and regular sharing of information, the 26/11 attack could have been prevented.
He said Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley had conspired with al-Qaeda terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri, a retired major of Pakistan Army and three Indian terrorists - Abu Jundal, Jabbiullah and Fahim Ansari - and roamed freely and plotted India’s worst terror attack.
“So it is not a state sponsored drama, state sponsored action. It is action by non-state actors. Triangular nexus between Headley, (Ilyas) Kashmiri, the enemy of Pakistan, a Major who deserted the Pakistan Army, having joined LeT and of course three Indians,” he said delivering a lecture at Observer Research Foundation.
Mr. Malik said during investigation, it has come to be known that they carried out recce of the targets and shot films uninterrupted and without notice of law enforcement agencies.
“If you put things together, there are three guys, one coming from the US, and he has that money, he has got credit cards, he has moved all over, he had created franchise, and he had created a social circle. All these should have come to the attention of some agencies.
“Now the agencies failed. Both here and Pakistan. So, we have failed. Why? Because, there was no interaction between Pakistan and India,” he said.
The Pakistani leader advised Indians not to hide matters of terror and investigation else things would may go out of hands.
“Of course, I have to tell the truth to your country, to your people so that we find a way forward. If you hide things, the things will continue to move same way and a time will come when you will not be able to handle and control,” he said.
Referring to LeT terrorist Abu Jundal, who was present in LeT control room during 26/11 attack and was deported from Saudi Arabia recently, Mr. Malik said Jundal had confessed that he was a known criminal, having been charged in many cases.
“He also worked as one of the sources of a very elite agency of India. Now, see, he has used agencies also and went rogue. Put it another way, you become a source, you become a double agent. While he is working, living in India, he might have gone rogue and then these three individuals go to Pakistan,” he said.
On Kashmiri, Mr. Malik said, he was a close aide of slain al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and was part of the conspiracy to kill former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto.
“Headley talked about a Major. I particular investigated that matter. We found the link. How it is happening. We arrested one Major Farooq. He is an ex-Army man and used to work for LeT. We arrested him and that guy gave us lot of information.
“So, what I am emphasising, if we had interaction at intelligence level, at ministerial level, at the government level, at diplomatic level, then we would have opportunity to share our information. May be, had we interacted (before 26/11), we would have found out Abu Jundal and Headley,” he said.
Keywords: Mumbai terror attacks, LeT, Intelligence agencies, Rehman Malik, Pakistan
That Pak is a fountain head of terrorism was never in dispute; that
there is a very thin line by State & Non State sponsorship also needs
to be accepted. ISI was established and funded by Pakistan precisely
to crry out terrorist strike against India & US. The ISI will use some
third parties to fulfill this mission , while funding it liberally.
The individual operation may not (and need not) be informed to the PM
or President (as it is being carried out clandestinely to fufill the
mandate given by the government only. While not much can be done to
prevent such incidents, our country's intelligence agencies need to
have an effective network to tap information while the incident is
brewing. It is here that the country has failed miserably and a person
like HADLEY could operate freely and un-noticed. The root cause of
this inefficency is corruption, which swallows everything in it's way.
Mr Malik's statement is like rubbing salt into the wounds and also it
seems he wants to convey "don't expect anything you are on your own".
Well i feel we should take that advice very seriously, we should be on
our own on preventing such terrorist activities and if any such thing
happens we should pursue and punish the perpetrators with vengeance on
our own instead of begging for help.
Then lets see what Mr Malik and his ilk has to say, probably nothing
because we wouldnt be asking for anything
Sir, I am amazed by Mr Malik blaming the victim. It showa that there is no sincere desire on Pakistan's part to clear the issues poisoning the relationship between the two countries. On the other hand, I think it is not wise for India to hope for a normal relationship with a country which was crfeated out of hatred.
India should have a crushingly strong defence force and should not be afraid to administer 'medicine' periodically.
No nation can be prepared to prevent terrorism. That is the reality. A
country like US could do nothing when a few people flew a commercial
airliner into a building. Security lapse is a devious lie and loaded
with a lot of mischief.
Mr Malik is using the Indian media to fan his own election prospects back home. The posturing, blaming India for 26/11 and completely absolving Pakistan of any involvement is well orchesterised to inflame to Indian anger and to make the Hosts (Mr Shinde in particular) uncomfortable. It is best that we ignore Malik and his masters back home in Pakistan. Not an iota of truth ever comes out from them. We should not wear kid-gloves when we are dealing with such a deadly entity. Firmness and resolve to act will bring Pakistan to the table with the tail firmly tucked in.
Prasbad; "Pakistan should take steps to build confidence." Confidence is a two way street, we don't need anybody's confidence who does not need ours. Get out of that superpower syndrome and work with your neighbors on the basis if equality.
Please read Retired IG of mumbai policy Mr.S.M.Mushrif's book "who
killed karkare"
It is a shame to accept that a dignitary from pakistan is not holding
any moral responsibility 4 yrs after 26/11, though it is clear that the
perpetrators belong to his nation. Instead, he is throwing some
outrageous and bland remarks to the media, which is baffling the whole
nation. The breeder of terrorism is teaching us how to cut its wings
after it spreads the violence with a vengeance. Our leaders should not
let him flee from our land with out rebutting him and teaching him a
lesson.
Sharing information. What happened to Osama Bin Laden episode with US? No body trust pakistan. FULL STOP
Pakistan should take steps to build confidence.
"Indian security agencies for their “failure” to prevent the Mumbai terror attack" Is this not true? Should an interior minister of Pakistan tell us the truth? It is time that Indian government and citizens wake up and correct the systems that deal with security of India.
this is the lesson, if you give a red carpet and entertain liars.
I think India is wasting time to entertain this clown from Pakistan. He says India should be in continuous dialogue with Pakistan to prevent these kinds of events. It is Pakistan's ISI that planned, organized and send the murderers un to India to conduct specific terror related activities. Now he comes to India and lectures how India should conduct themselves. Kick this guy our of India. Sooner the better.
Now Malik saab blames India for 26/11. Matter of the fact is Pakistan
never shares facts about the situations. Had there been sharing of
information between India and Pakistan, even then I doubt that 26/11
would have been stopped. There is no trust between these two countries.
Unless there is trust between the two nations, irrespective of how many
high level meetings are undertaken, it is of no use. If Pakistan truely
fights against the terrorist bases in their country, it would be first
victory in developing trust and cooperation with India.
if we go by the rehman malik's comment, pakistan was well aware of 26/11
attack. i guess we are wasting our time by asking pakistan to take
action against the terrorist. we should learn something from USA and do
the needful.
The series of comments made by Pakistani Interior Minister betrays the futility of Indian Government's ways of dealing with Pakistan.
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