Browse by Region/Country
July 5, 2010
Font size:
Kasab's ‘Azizabad’ camp located
Pranab Dhal Samanta in The Indian Express, New Delhi:
On completion of training, the accused provided various articles to the terrorists including Yamaha engine, life jackets, inflatable boats, cellphones, GPS, air pumps and different weapons. Terrorists by travelling through boats Al-Hussaini and Al-Fouz succeeded to reach the sea and after hijacking of Indian boat Al-Kubair, finally reached the shore of Mumbai to carry out Mumbai terror attacks on 26-28 November... furthermore, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi is their (LeT) operational commander and they operated from different training centres at Battal, Manshera, Muzaffarabad, Yousaf Goth Karachi and Mirpur Sikroo, Thatta” Pakistan’s interim chargesheet, filed in court on September 20, 2009.
IN this most detailed Pakistani chargesheet on the 26/11 attacks, filed in court last September, the Pakistani Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) revealed that it has located two camps — one of which was a 48-acre training facility near a creek in Thatha district of Sindh — where the terrorists who attacked Mumbai were trained.
Crucial proof showing distribution of weapons to the terrorists and detailed maps of the Indian coastline, besides training manuals, have been shown as having been recovered from these camps. Recoveries like instructions on using a mobile phone during an operation have been made from the residence of one of the accused.
The 61-page interim court challan states: “Accused Hammad Amin Sadiq led the EO to a 48 acres LeT camp near Goth Ali Nawaz Shah in Tehsil Mirpur Sakro, District Thatha (Sindh), on which five thatched rooms and a three-room house is built. The piece of land is located about two kilometres from a creek where from small boats sail to the sea. Training was given to activists of LeT in this camp.”
Ishrat Jahan was a LeT fidayeen: Headley
Vishwa Mohan & Dhananjay Mahapatra, Times of India, Jul 5, 2010
Ishrat Jahan, a Mumbai girl who was killed along with three alleged terrorists in 2004 in a police encounter.
NEW DELHI: Pakistani American terrorist David Headley has said that Ishrat Jahan, the Mumbai girl who was killed along with three alleged terrorists in 2004 in a police encounter, was indeed a Lashkar-e-Taiba fidayeen.
Sources said Headley told interrogators from the National Investigation Agency that Ishrat, a resident of Mumbra in Thane, was recruited by top Lashkar commander Muzammil who was in-charge of LeT's operations in India till 2007.
The statement, while confirming that Headley is a trove of information on Lashkar's plans against India, corroborates the version of Gujarat police as well as the Centre in what has turned into a controversial case because of doubts about the veracity of the police version.
Importantly, Headley's statement tallies with claim of Gujarat cops and the Centre that Muzammil had sent Ishrat and her accomplices to Gujarat on a terror mission as part of Lashkar's plan to attack the Indian hinterland and target VIPs.
Headley's visits to India for reconaissance missions for Lashkar started in 2006, sources said, when Muzammil was Lashkar's chief commander in India.
Lashkar had owned up Ishrat immediately after the encounter, with its Lahore-based mouthpiece 'Ghazwa Times' describing her as an LeT activist and taking umbrage at the action of Indian cops in removing her veil. In 2007, however, Lashkar, in its fresh incarnation as Jamaat-ud-Dawa, disowned her, by issuing an apology to Ishrat's family for calling her an LeT cadre.
The timing of the apology was significant. It came just before Gopinath Pillai, father of Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai who was killed along with Ishrat, filed a petition in the Supreme Court, demanding a CBI probe into the encounter.
Headley's statement that Ishrat was recruited to be a fidayeen undercuts Lashkar's attempt to disown her, though it may not settle doubts about the genuineness of the encounter in which she was killed.
Ishrat and Javed were killed along with two Pakistani nationals -- Amjad Ali and Jishan Johar Abdul Ghani -- both alleged LeT terrorists, on June 15, 2004. According to the police version, they were intercepted on the outskirts of Ahmedabad when they were about to enter the city in a blue Indica on a mission to eliminate chief minister Narendra Modi.
In her petition to the Gujarat High Court, Ishrat's mother Shamima Kausar had disputed the version of the Gujarat police as well as the Centre, claiming that her daughter was a saleswoman working for Javed Sheikh who dealt in perfumes. Javed's father told the SC that his son was innocent and sought a central probe.
Both Gujarat police and Centre pointed to infirmities in their version. Centre told Gujarat HC that Javed had been recruited by LeT when he was in Dubai. Gopinath Pillai had not disclosed criminal cases pending against his son, or the fact that he had obtained a different passport using his original name even though the one issued to him was still valid.
The Centre also disputed the claim of Gopinath Pillai, supported by Ishrat's mother, that he was in the business of perfumes and that this required him and Ishrat to travel across the country.
The Gujarat HC had set Monday as the deadline for all parties concerned to submit their replies to the petitions from the parents of Ishrat and Javed, seeking a CBI probe into the alleged encounter.
The case has taken on significance after a CBI probe established that Sohrabuddin, an alleged gangster, was killed by Gujarat cops in a fake encounter. It has also established that Tulsidas Prajapati, a small-time criminal who helped Gujarat cops nab Sohrabuddin, was also eliminated by the police to wipe out evidence.
Headley's account underlines his importance as a repository of crucial information on Lashkar and its plans on India. His statement to the NIA team that LeT founder Hafiz Saeed was engaged with the 26/11 attackers all through the plot has reinforced India's demand that Pakistan take action against the Lashkar chief. Sources described the information given by the Pakistani American terrorist as "vital inputs".
LeT linked to protestors in Kashmir: PC
NEW DELHI, June 30: Firmly backing the State Government in dealing with the violence in the Kashmir valley, the Centre today said that anti-national forces that were fomenting trouble were clearly linked to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh June 30 chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation in the Valley which has witnessed stone-pelting and attacks on security forces for the past six days during which five persons have lost their lives when fired upon by security personnel. Home Minister P Chidambaram, Defence Minister A K Antony and top officials were present.
The Centre’s approach to the situation is two-pronged, the security forces should exercise maximum restraint but people should not violate the curfew wherever it has been imposed.
"We will support the State Government in restoring the law and order situation. I hope the situation will come under control in the next few days," Chidambaram told a media briefing here.
Asked who were the anti-national elements involved in the trouble, the Home Minister said the "anti-national elements are clearly linked to LeT which is active in Sopore area."
Two militants belonging to LeT were killed in an operation in the Sopore area few days ago, he pointed out.
The meeting appreciated the statement of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah yesterday appealing for calm and asking people not to allow their children to violate the law.
"The Chief Minister’s statement has been reasonable, clear and firm. We have instructed the para-military forces to exercise maximum restraint in dealing with stone-pelters and also asked the Chief Minister and his Ministers to visit the disturbed areas," Chidambaram said.
Referring to the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, the Home Minister said that the Government was committed to providing full protection to the pilgrims.
Chidambaram said that the meeting decided that the State Government must enforce curfew wherever it was imposed and there must not be any violence.
The Home Minister said no one in Jammu and Kashmir should allow himself or herself to be misguided and violate curfew.
The Central Government also advised the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues to visit disturbed areas so that there is political activity along with normal policing.
"We are confident that the State Government will be able to ensure peaceful completion of the Amarnath yatra and that nothing may disrupt the yatra," he said.
Chidambaram said many of the young boys participating in the protests were misled by vested interests and asked the parents to keep them inside their homes.
Presenting the monthly report of his Ministry, the Home Minister said Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a revival of stone-pelting and attacks on security forces.
"Beginning June 11, eleven civilian lives have been lost. In the same period, 53 personnel of CRPF have been injured, many of them seriously. An inspector and a jawan of the CRPF have received bullet injuries.
"Yesterday, I made a statement on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and that statement may be read as part of this report. We have reiterated the instructions to the security forces to adopt maximum restraint while dealing with rioting crowds or stone-pelters. However, the Central Government remains committed to support the State Government in restoring law and order," he said.
Asked whether there was any move to amend Armed Forces Special Powers Act, he said that the Home Ministry had submitted a proposal before the Cabinet Committee on Security and as and when any decision would taken, it will be made public.
Pranab Dhal Samanta in The Indian Express, New Delhi:
On completion of training, the accused provided various articles to the terrorists including Yamaha engine, life jackets, inflatable boats, cellphones, GPS, air pumps and different weapons. Terrorists by travelling through boats Al-Hussaini and Al-Fouz succeeded to reach the sea and after hijacking of Indian boat Al-Kubair, finally reached the shore of Mumbai to carry out Mumbai terror attacks on 26-28 November... furthermore, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi is their (LeT) operational commander and they operated from different training centres at Battal, Manshera, Muzaffarabad, Yousaf Goth Karachi and Mirpur Sikroo, Thatta” Pakistan’s interim chargesheet, filed in court on September 20, 2009.
IN this most detailed Pakistani chargesheet on the 26/11 attacks, filed in court last September, the Pakistani Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) revealed that it has located two camps — one of which was a 48-acre training facility near a creek in Thatha district of Sindh — where the terrorists who attacked Mumbai were trained.
Crucial proof showing distribution of weapons to the terrorists and detailed maps of the Indian coastline, besides training manuals, have been shown as having been recovered from these camps. Recoveries like instructions on using a mobile phone during an operation have been made from the residence of one of the accused.
The 61-page interim court challan states: “Accused Hammad Amin Sadiq led the EO to a 48 acres LeT camp near Goth Ali Nawaz Shah in Tehsil Mirpur Sakro, District Thatha (Sindh), on which five thatched rooms and a three-room house is built. The piece of land is located about two kilometres from a creek where from small boats sail to the sea. Training was given to activists of LeT in this camp.”
Ishrat Jahan was a LeT fidayeen: Headley
Vishwa Mohan & Dhananjay Mahapatra, Times of India, Jul 5, 2010
Ishrat Jahan, a Mumbai girl who was killed along with three alleged terrorists in 2004 in a police encounter.
NEW DELHI: Pakistani American terrorist David Headley has said that Ishrat Jahan, the Mumbai girl who was killed along with three alleged terrorists in 2004 in a police encounter, was indeed a Lashkar-e-Taiba fidayeen.
Sources said Headley told interrogators from the National Investigation Agency that Ishrat, a resident of Mumbra in Thane, was recruited by top Lashkar commander Muzammil who was in-charge of LeT's operations in India till 2007.
The statement, while confirming that Headley is a trove of information on Lashkar's plans against India, corroborates the version of Gujarat police as well as the Centre in what has turned into a controversial case because of doubts about the veracity of the police version.
Importantly, Headley's statement tallies with claim of Gujarat cops and the Centre that Muzammil had sent Ishrat and her accomplices to Gujarat on a terror mission as part of Lashkar's plan to attack the Indian hinterland and target VIPs.
Headley's visits to India for reconaissance missions for Lashkar started in 2006, sources said, when Muzammil was Lashkar's chief commander in India.
Lashkar had owned up Ishrat immediately after the encounter, with its Lahore-based mouthpiece 'Ghazwa Times' describing her as an LeT activist and taking umbrage at the action of Indian cops in removing her veil. In 2007, however, Lashkar, in its fresh incarnation as Jamaat-ud-Dawa, disowned her, by issuing an apology to Ishrat's family for calling her an LeT cadre.
The timing of the apology was significant. It came just before Gopinath Pillai, father of Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai who was killed along with Ishrat, filed a petition in the Supreme Court, demanding a CBI probe into the encounter.
Headley's statement that Ishrat was recruited to be a fidayeen undercuts Lashkar's attempt to disown her, though it may not settle doubts about the genuineness of the encounter in which she was killed.
Ishrat and Javed were killed along with two Pakistani nationals -- Amjad Ali and Jishan Johar Abdul Ghani -- both alleged LeT terrorists, on June 15, 2004. According to the police version, they were intercepted on the outskirts of Ahmedabad when they were about to enter the city in a blue Indica on a mission to eliminate chief minister Narendra Modi.
In her petition to the Gujarat High Court, Ishrat's mother Shamima Kausar had disputed the version of the Gujarat police as well as the Centre, claiming that her daughter was a saleswoman working for Javed Sheikh who dealt in perfumes. Javed's father told the SC that his son was innocent and sought a central probe.
Both Gujarat police and Centre pointed to infirmities in their version. Centre told Gujarat HC that Javed had been recruited by LeT when he was in Dubai. Gopinath Pillai had not disclosed criminal cases pending against his son, or the fact that he had obtained a different passport using his original name even though the one issued to him was still valid.
The Centre also disputed the claim of Gopinath Pillai, supported by Ishrat's mother, that he was in the business of perfumes and that this required him and Ishrat to travel across the country.
The Gujarat HC had set Monday as the deadline for all parties concerned to submit their replies to the petitions from the parents of Ishrat and Javed, seeking a CBI probe into the alleged encounter.
The case has taken on significance after a CBI probe established that Sohrabuddin, an alleged gangster, was killed by Gujarat cops in a fake encounter. It has also established that Tulsidas Prajapati, a small-time criminal who helped Gujarat cops nab Sohrabuddin, was also eliminated by the police to wipe out evidence.
Headley's account underlines his importance as a repository of crucial information on Lashkar and its plans on India. His statement to the NIA team that LeT founder Hafiz Saeed was engaged with the 26/11 attackers all through the plot has reinforced India's demand that Pakistan take action against the Lashkar chief. Sources described the information given by the Pakistani American terrorist as "vital inputs".
LeT linked to protestors in Kashmir: PC
NEW DELHI, June 30: Firmly backing the State Government in dealing with the violence in the Kashmir valley, the Centre today said that anti-national forces that were fomenting trouble were clearly linked to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh June 30 chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation in the Valley which has witnessed stone-pelting and attacks on security forces for the past six days during which five persons have lost their lives when fired upon by security personnel. Home Minister P Chidambaram, Defence Minister A K Antony and top officials were present.
The Centre’s approach to the situation is two-pronged, the security forces should exercise maximum restraint but people should not violate the curfew wherever it has been imposed.
"We will support the State Government in restoring the law and order situation. I hope the situation will come under control in the next few days," Chidambaram told a media briefing here.
Asked who were the anti-national elements involved in the trouble, the Home Minister said the "anti-national elements are clearly linked to LeT which is active in Sopore area."
Two militants belonging to LeT were killed in an operation in the Sopore area few days ago, he pointed out.
The meeting appreciated the statement of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah yesterday appealing for calm and asking people not to allow their children to violate the law.
"The Chief Minister’s statement has been reasonable, clear and firm. We have instructed the para-military forces to exercise maximum restraint in dealing with stone-pelters and also asked the Chief Minister and his Ministers to visit the disturbed areas," Chidambaram said.
Referring to the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, the Home Minister said that the Government was committed to providing full protection to the pilgrims.
Chidambaram said that the meeting decided that the State Government must enforce curfew wherever it was imposed and there must not be any violence.
The Home Minister said no one in Jammu and Kashmir should allow himself or herself to be misguided and violate curfew.
The Central Government also advised the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues to visit disturbed areas so that there is political activity along with normal policing.
"We are confident that the State Government will be able to ensure peaceful completion of the Amarnath yatra and that nothing may disrupt the yatra," he said.
Chidambaram said many of the young boys participating in the protests were misled by vested interests and asked the parents to keep them inside their homes.
Presenting the monthly report of his Ministry, the Home Minister said Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a revival of stone-pelting and attacks on security forces.
"Beginning June 11, eleven civilian lives have been lost. In the same period, 53 personnel of CRPF have been injured, many of them seriously. An inspector and a jawan of the CRPF have received bullet injuries.
"Yesterday, I made a statement on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and that statement may be read as part of this report. We have reiterated the instructions to the security forces to adopt maximum restraint while dealing with rioting crowds or stone-pelters. However, the Central Government remains committed to support the State Government in restoring law and order," he said.
Asked whether there was any move to amend Armed Forces Special Powers Act, he said that the Home Ministry had submitted a proposal before the Cabinet Committee on Security and as and when any decision would taken, it will be made public.
Add to:
del.icio.us |
Digg
del.icio.us |
Digg
Email to a friend
Print version
Plain textRate this article
Comments (0 posted):
Post your comment