12-02-2009, 03:20 PM
Pakistan unveils Mumbai breakthrough
Thu Feb 12, 2009 1:52pm GMT
By Kamran Haider
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan was holding in custody the ringleader and five other suspects in the conspiracy behind a militant attack that killed 179 people in Mumbai, the top Pakistani interior ministry official said on Thursday.
"Some part of the conspiracy has taken place in Pakistan," Rehman Malik, adviser to the prime minister on the interior, told a news conference, detailing how the gunmen had sailed from Karachi to carry out the attack on the Indian financial capital between November 26-28.
Malik said six suspects were in custody and two were known but still at large.
Pakistani officials shared the findings of the investigation with India's envoy in Islamabad, High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal, and the Indian foreign ministry issued a statement describing the Pakistani actions as a "positive development."
Tensions have been running high between India and Pakistan since the attack by 10 gunmen on India's financial capital last November, though fear of a conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours has receded in recent weeks.
India has maintained the plot was hatched in Pakistan, and has pressed for forceful follow-up by Pakistani authorities against militants belonging to Laskhar-e-Taiba, a jihadi group it says was responsible.
Pakistan released the long-awaited results of its investigation as Richard Holbrooke, President Barack Obama's new special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, rounded off a four-day visit to the country.
Holbrooke was scheduled to arrive in Kabul later on Thursday, and would visit India early next week on the final leg of a regional tour to devise a grand strategy for stabilising Afghanistan and eliminating the al Qaeda threat in Pakistan.
Tracing telephone calls and bank transfers had led to the capture of a key figure in the conspiracy, Hammad Amin Sadiq, Malik said.
"He was basically the main operator," Malik said, adding that his interrogation led to the raid on two hideouts, one in the port city, and one two hours outside.
"We have located those locations which were used by the terrorists before launching themselves," Malik said.
"They had some kind of training, they went into the ocean," he said, saying they had sailed from Karachi.
"Some of the accused who have been arrested, they have given us the full rundown."
Malik said the breakthrough in the investigation had resulted from tracing the fishing vessel used by the militants, purchases of equipment like life jackets and the engine for the rubber dinghy that militants came ashore in Mumbai.
Rehman said Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah, two members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, were still in custody.
He said two other men being held were Khan and Riaz, withholding their full names so as not to compromise the investigation.
LINKS TO EUROPE AND U.S.
One of those arrested, identified as Javed Iqbal, was lured back to Pakistan from the Spanish city of Barcelona, Malik said.
Investigators had also discovered some funds transferred from Italy and Spain were used to finance the attack, and Austrian telephone sim cards were used. Malik spoke too of a link, possibly an Internet domain, to Houston in the United States.
Malik said investigators had been unable to confirm the identities of the nine gunmen killed in the attack, though Pakistan has confirmed Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, the gunman caught alive, was a Pakistani.
He said only nine of the 10 gunmen came ashore in the dinghy, and the fishing boat they had used to sail from Karachi had refuelled on the coast of India's Gujurat state.
The Pakistani official said one suspect was allegedly involved in the 2007 bomb attack on the Samjhauta Express in India that killed 68 people as the train headed for the Pakistani city of Lahor, and India had been requested for more information.
Malik said a first information report (FIR), the term for a police complaint, had been lodged to initiate a case but Pakistan needed more help from India to make charges stick.
(Additional reporting by Zeeshan Haider and Augustine Anthony; Writing by Simon Cameron-Moore; Editing by Jerry Norton)
© Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Thomson Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Thomson Reuters group of companies around the world.
Thu Feb 12, 2009 1:52pm GMT
By Kamran Haider
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan was holding in custody the ringleader and five other suspects in the conspiracy behind a militant attack that killed 179 people in Mumbai, the top Pakistani interior ministry official said on Thursday.
"Some part of the conspiracy has taken place in Pakistan," Rehman Malik, adviser to the prime minister on the interior, told a news conference, detailing how the gunmen had sailed from Karachi to carry out the attack on the Indian financial capital between November 26-28.
Malik said six suspects were in custody and two were known but still at large.
Pakistani officials shared the findings of the investigation with India's envoy in Islamabad, High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal, and the Indian foreign ministry issued a statement describing the Pakistani actions as a "positive development."
Tensions have been running high between India and Pakistan since the attack by 10 gunmen on India's financial capital last November, though fear of a conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours has receded in recent weeks.
India has maintained the plot was hatched in Pakistan, and has pressed for forceful follow-up by Pakistani authorities against militants belonging to Laskhar-e-Taiba, a jihadi group it says was responsible.
Pakistan released the long-awaited results of its investigation as Richard Holbrooke, President Barack Obama's new special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, rounded off a four-day visit to the country.
Holbrooke was scheduled to arrive in Kabul later on Thursday, and would visit India early next week on the final leg of a regional tour to devise a grand strategy for stabilising Afghanistan and eliminating the al Qaeda threat in Pakistan.
Tracing telephone calls and bank transfers had led to the capture of a key figure in the conspiracy, Hammad Amin Sadiq, Malik said.
"He was basically the main operator," Malik said, adding that his interrogation led to the raid on two hideouts, one in the port city, and one two hours outside.
"We have located those locations which were used by the terrorists before launching themselves," Malik said.
"They had some kind of training, they went into the ocean," he said, saying they had sailed from Karachi.
"Some of the accused who have been arrested, they have given us the full rundown."
Malik said the breakthrough in the investigation had resulted from tracing the fishing vessel used by the militants, purchases of equipment like life jackets and the engine for the rubber dinghy that militants came ashore in Mumbai.
Rehman said Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah, two members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, were still in custody.
He said two other men being held were Khan and Riaz, withholding their full names so as not to compromise the investigation.
LINKS TO EUROPE AND U.S.
One of those arrested, identified as Javed Iqbal, was lured back to Pakistan from the Spanish city of Barcelona, Malik said.
Investigators had also discovered some funds transferred from Italy and Spain were used to finance the attack, and Austrian telephone sim cards were used. Malik spoke too of a link, possibly an Internet domain, to Houston in the United States.
Malik said investigators had been unable to confirm the identities of the nine gunmen killed in the attack, though Pakistan has confirmed Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, the gunman caught alive, was a Pakistani.
He said only nine of the 10 gunmen came ashore in the dinghy, and the fishing boat they had used to sail from Karachi had refuelled on the coast of India's Gujurat state.
The Pakistani official said one suspect was allegedly involved in the 2007 bomb attack on the Samjhauta Express in India that killed 68 people as the train headed for the Pakistani city of Lahor, and India had been requested for more information.
Malik said a first information report (FIR), the term for a police complaint, had been lodged to initiate a case but Pakistan needed more help from India to make charges stick.
(Additional reporting by Zeeshan Haider and Augustine Anthony; Writing by Simon Cameron-Moore; Editing by Jerry Norton)
© Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Thomson Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Thomson Reuters group of companies around the world.