The Truth About Mumbai Attacks (Indias Hindu Radicals Responsible)

[was]

Pakistanis wary of Mumbai claims

By Barbara Plett
BBC News, Islamabad

Pakistans rally in support of the army, following allegations from India over the Mumbai attacks
Some Pakistanis have rallied against claims of links to the Mumbai attackers

Indian media reports detailing Pakistani links to the audacious Mumbai attacks have been met with deep scepticism in Pakistan.

"Why do they always blame us?" said an airline worker in the port city of Karachi, from where some of the gunmen are alleged to have set off for Indian shores.

"Any time something happens in India, they say Pakistan is behind it, but they don't come up with any proof."

A boutique owner agreed. "Everybody's out to get us," he said as his customers expressed fear that Indian agents would retaliate by striking Karachi.

Such blanket dismissals fail to acknowledge Pakistan's history of using Islamist militant groups to fight proxy wars against India in the disputed region of Kashmir.

One of these, Lashkar-i-Taiba, was blamed for the attack on India's parliament in 2001 that brought the two countries to the brink of war.

However, it denied that, as well as any involvement in the Mumbai atrocities ,which lasted three days and left over 170 people dead and hundreds injured.

Indian 'denial'

Whatever the case, Pakistanis say Indian accusations have become reflex actions that don't take changing realities into account.

"It is interesting that Indian security agencies failed to detect such a massive operation during its planning stage, but wasted little time in fixing the blame on some Pakistani group," wrote defence analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi in the local Daily Times newspaper.

"If they knew who was responsible, why could they not pre-empt it? India needs to face the reality of home-grown radicalism, and realize the futility of blaming Pakistan for its troubles."
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi
Foreign Minister Qureshi had hoped for a "warming" with India

Mr Rizvi expressed a widely held conviction here that India is in denial about its problems with indigenous Islamist groups that have surfaced in recent years - rooted, it's believed, in state discrimination and communal violence against Muslims.

And, say Pakistanis, India has got it wrong before.

The fire-bombing of the Samjhauta Express train between New Delhi and Lahore in February 2007 was first blamed on Pakistan, but later linked to Hindu extremists supported by an Indian army colonel.

'Brisk escalation'

At the official level, both the government and the military have also warned India against jumping to hasty conclusions, but otherwise their responses have differed.

Political leaders have gone out of their way to condemn the attacks and offer "unconditional support" in the investigation, promising to take action if any Pakistani link is established.

A conflict with India is the last thing they want after succeeding the military-led government of retired General Pervez Musharraf last year.

"I'm concerned because I could see forward movement, India warming up to Pakistan, constructive engagement," said Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at the weekend.

"Let us not fool ourselves, the situation is serious when people in India are calling this their 9/11," adding that he hoped the "hiccup" in relations would be overcome soon.

Pakistan's powerful security establishment, however, is more cynical.

Mumbai residents grieve near Nariman House, the scene of one of the battles with gunmen
As India grieves, Pakistan has offered "unconditional support"
Despite a peace process which began in 2004 it sees India as stalling on Kashmir, and it is convinced Delhi's allegations are aimed at trying to discredit Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI).

"The Indians are taking the escalation level up at a very brisk pace," a senior security official said on Saturday.

He too pledged co-operation but said if India began to mobilise troops, Pakistan would respond in kind, even if that meant pulling soldiers away from fighting Taleban and al-Qaeda militants on its border with Afghanistan.

The different attitudes towards India were publicly exposed when political leaders were forced to retract a promise to send the intelligence chief to Delhi.

While President Asif Zardari described this as a "miscommunication," others blamed the government for failing to consult the military before making the unprecedented announcement.

Already the army's been taken aback by overtures to India made by Mr Zardari.

Most recently the president offered no first-use of nuclear weapons, ignoring decades of established policy.

The apparently off-the-cuff remark in an interview with Indian media astonished Pakistanis as much as Indians.

It remains to be seen whether this rift will grow under mounting pressure from India and the US, which fears that souring relations between the two rivals will hinder its attempts to encourage regional co-operation against Islamist militancy in Afghanistan.

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Pakistanis wary of Mumbai claims

 

[haviZsultan]

i dont care for the lives that are lost .. what are you hitlers long lost son .hey gowda have you inherited your brains from deve gowda. your not the solution but the problem. and yes you will become our national leader because you are brainless like alll of them. sumne malgi..

Atleast there are some sensible people here.

My boiz called f4m hyd'z they are scared shitless lol. They think there is going to be a major attack on muslims right now.

Tensions are high and issue is people in India without looking without thinking just believe their government and medias claims. People in India are going like "lets bomb Pakistan" all round. People are angry...

Question is do you guys ever think about why u just believe everything in the Media or everything churned out by your government? Do you guys ever think that by every time a bomb goes off in India u blame a foreign terror group and ISI for doing it you are denying yourself justice. How can you possibly believe that every attack in your country which has more than 1.1 billion people is from foreigners?

This is pure self delusion and is denying the people killed justice. They deserve a right to know exactly who was behind these attacks.

 

[dr.umer]

Mumbai attacks reveal deep-rooted conflicts in India​

December 01, 2008

People's Daily - China

The terrorist attacks in India's financial capital Mumbai starting Wednesday night have shocked the world with their brazenness and brutality. The attacks have added to a mounting sense of insecurity in the city and people are still struggling to come to terms with the fallout from the three-day rampage.

TERRORIST ATTACKS MORE FREQUENT

India has witnessed deadly terrorist attacks almost every year ln recent years, with casualties running into thousands. Since a wave of bombings hit Jaipur in May, several large Indian cities, including New Delhi and Bangalore, all became targets of terrorist attacks, which resulted in heavy casualties and losses.

As India's financial capital and the most populous city, Mumbai has come under terrorist attacks three times in recent years, the previous two being in 1993 and 2006. The latest attacks were more serious in terms of their magnitude.

The attacks were well-planned and the gunmen were cold-blooded. They were well-equipped and trained. They hurled grenades, fired indiscriminately, took people hostage and attacked hotels and hospitals.

Experts point to the level of sophistication of the attacks and also note that foreigners were targeted for the first time in terrorist attacks in India.

CAUSES BEHIND THE TERROR ATTACKS

Against a backdrop of intensified anti-terror efforts globally, there are deep-rooted causes behind the rampant terrorist activities in India.

Firstly, sectarian conflicts are serious in India. With many sects in the country, mostly belonging to Hindus and Muslims, many conflicts erupt between the two communities, fighting for different religious beliefs and their own interests.

A previously unknown group calling itself Deccan Mujahedeen claimed responsibility for the attacks, fueling speculation they might be linked to the Indian Mujahedeen formed by Islamic extremists, which had sent emails claiming responsibility for four attacks it said it mounted between November 2007 and September 2008.

Secondly, cross-border terrorism has become a major threat to the country's security. Bordering on Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh where some terrorist groups are operating, India is vulnerable to these attacks. The Kashmir separatists have grown more worried because of the improved ties between India and Pakistan and might have been involved the latest attacks in their bid to sabotage India-Pakistan relations.

Independent security analyst K. Subrahmanyam suggested that a primary motive for the Mumbai attacks could well have been a desire to "wreck the peace process" launched by India and Pakistanin January 2004.

The attacks, involving multiple targets and hostage-taking, bears "the hallmarks of Al-Qaeda attacks in the Middle East and North Africa", said former national security advisor Brajesh Mishra.

Thirdly, separatism is flourishing in India which has a vast territory, a large population and unbalanced economic development. The widening gap between rich and poor has triggered discontent among minorities and social conflicts are becoming more serious.

According to statistics from the Indian Interior Ministry, there are 275 terrorist groups in the country. For years, the government has been trying to ease conflicts through dialogue and negotiations, but the effort has not yielded much results.

HIGH PRICES

The Mumbai attacks have dealt a heavy blow to the credibility of the ruling Congress party-led coalition government, especially in the run-up to the general elections scheduled for next year.

After the last militant was gunned down by the Indian commandos on Sunday, the public has been questioning the ineptness of some politicians and security loopholes. The Congress government was blamed by many for the loopholes that allowed the heavily-armed Islamist gunmen to come across the seas to land in Mumbai. Others decried the Hindu nationalist party BJP for seeking electoral advantage.

India's home minister and security minister both resigned on Sunday, taking responsibility for the deadly attacks.

The attacks were another blow to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's cabinet, as public confidence in the government has been falling due to rising inflation at home and the global financial crisis. How to cope with the aftermath of the terror attacks would be an immediate challenge and serious test for the Singh cabinet.

 

[dr.umer]

The misplaced hype about Faridkot​

MULTAN/KHANEWAL, Nov 30: As Mumbai struggles to return to normalcy in the wake of terrorist attacks, a Pakistani village named Faridkot is being mentioned in the Indian media as the place of origin of the lone gunman arrested by Indian commandos. He has been identified as Ajmal Amir Kasab.

The media, however, conveniently avoids mentioning that there is also a town with the same name in the Indian state of Punjab.

In Pakistan, there are several villages named Faridkot, but three of them — one each in Khanewal, Pakpattan and Okara — attracted the attention of intelligence agencies and media to ‘prove’ that the terrorist was a Pakistani.

Faridkot in Khanewal, also known as Chak No 90/10-R, is a hamlet on the Jahanian Road, 53km from Multan and has a population of 5,000. This village has one primary school and two mosques — one managed by Barelvis and the other by Shias — and is known for sectarian harmony.

Interestingly, the Indian media is not even sure whether the alleged attacker is named Ajmal Amir Kamal, Muhammad Ajmal, Muhammad Amin Kasab, Azam Amir Kasav or Azam Amir Kasab.

People of this village said there were four people named Ajmal in the village — the one whose name also included Kamal had died 15 years ago. The numberdar of the village, Haqnawaz Baloch, told Dawn that Kamal was son of Muhammad Shafi. Another man named Ajmal had shifted to Ahmedpur East several years ago. The third Ajmal worked in a tea processing factory and the fourth one was a labourer, he said.

He said there was no person by the name of Amin or Azam and did not know what ‘Kasab’ or ‘Kasav’ meant. He said people of the village were peaceful and no one from Faridkot had visited India.

Khanewal police raided Faridkot twice over the past two days to gather details about the alleged terrorist. “We thoroughly checked the village record when Indian media started saying someone from this village was involved in the (Mumbai) attack. The hype is misplaced,” said District Police Officer Kamran Khan. He said police had done the checking on their own, without any instruction from the government.

According to BBCUrdu.com, another village named Faridkot is near Pakpattan. It has a population of 2,000 and most of them are farmers.

Residents say they do not know anyone by the name of Ajmal or Akmal and no one from the village has links with jihadi or other banned outfits.

Another Faridkot is a remote village in Deepalpur tehsil in Okara district.

The Economic Times, an Indian paper, claimed that Azam Amir Kasav, 21, belonged to this village and “speaks fluent English”.

“We can tell you who this man is and how he has become the vital link for investigating agencies to crack the terror plot,” the paper says.

 

[fatman17]

Let me tell you some thing thats gonna cause u great pain,
first up we have caught a live terrorist his name is some kasam(****)
& we have killed all others.. do you know why coz we need only one to
link pakistan to the attacks & the rest had an appointment with allah
now why do we need this one guy, to tell the world who is sending
terror around the world.. by doing so, what we can do have u ever guessed
well let me tell u that, we can stop the aid coming to pakistan..
right now the global economy has slowed down & it means pak is the worst
hit nation of it &so they are begging for money from the west & also the chinese
they even begged India for help & aid, now that they have sent terror to us..
its our turn to return the honor by telling everyone around the world that
pak is committed to destroy peace all over & we need to stop pak
what ever it takes to stop them, we will do it.. first a economic blockade
then pressure to curb terrorists, then liberate pak from muslims..
well yaa let me tell you some thing else too, you have said a lot about hindus
that they are the master minds behind mumbai attacks.. but for your bad luck
we have also intercepted a phone conversation b/w terrorists & ur military
general which has been recorded & for that reason india asked pak to send its
ISI chief to prosecute him.. but pak was afraid of internal resistance &
so it denied to send him to india.. well dont worry we gonna hot back this
time & we gonna hit back pretty hard at you..

delusions!!!

 

[was]

response to indian propoganda
live with lalat
Video Program Playing | Pakistan Herald

 

[ghazi]

Mumbai massacre story unfolds in terrorist’s interrogation



Praveen Swami








— PHOTO: AFP

Prize catch: Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman, the only terrorist arrested in Mumbai, is undergoing treatment at an undisclosed location in the city. This handout photo has been released by the police.

MUMBAI: For the past week, newspaper readers across the world gazed at photographs of the dark young man who, sack slung over his shoulder, was caught on closed-circuit camera minutes before he opened fire at commuters at a busy Mumbai railway station.

Based on interviews with key officers involved in the investigation and on the interrogation records of the terrorist, The Hindu has been able to assemble key parts of the story behind the face.

Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman (wrongly identified earlier as Kamaal and Kasav) began his journey to Mumbai on September 15, 2008. He was part of a group of ten men who had spent months training in marine combat and navigation skills in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Punjab.

Lashkar military commander Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi, Iman has told investigators, showed them detailed maps of south Mumbai, and films of the targets they had been tasked to hit. Iman and his partner ‘Abu Umar’ — whose name, he learned, was in fact Mohammad Ismail — were tasked with attacking the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

Iman and the other terrorists were set to leave for Mumbai on September 27.

For reasons he claims to be unaware of, they were ordered to hold back. Late on November 22, Lakhvi finally gave the team a heads-up. At 4:15 a.m. on November 23, Iman and Ismail rowed out to sea along with four other groups: men Iman knew as Abu Akasha and Abu Umar; ‘Bada’ [Big] Abdul Rehman and Abu Ali; ‘Chhota’ [small] Abdul Rehman and Afadullah; Shoaib and Umar.

Each man was equipped with a Kalashnikov rifle and 200 rounds of ammunition and grenades. The group also had at least one state-of-the art Garmin global positioning system set, and several mobile phones fitted with SIM cards, which have now been determined to have been purchased in Kolkata and New Delhi. Three men had larger bags, packed with five timer-controlled Improvised Explosive Devices.

Near Indian coastal waters, the men hijacked a fishing boat. On reaching Mumbai, they rowed the last few nautical miles to Budhwar Park in an inflatable dinghy. From Budhwar Park, they travelled on to their targets by hailing taxis. Iman and Ismail reached CST as planned, and opened fire on the assembled commuters. While Ismail was killed when policemen at the site returned fire, braving grenades thrown at them, Iman was injured and is now in the Mumbai hospital.

Mumbai police officials were able to defuse two of the IEDs planted at the Taj Mahal hotel and a third at the Oberoi hotel, even as fighting broke out. This police action saved dozens of lives. However, two bombs went off in taxis used by the group, possibly after being abandoned in the vehicles.

Iman has told interrogators that right through the fighting, the Lashkar headquarters remained in touch with the group, calling their phones through a voice-over-internet service. In all likelihood, Indian investigators were able to intercept these calls, which would then form part of a compelling body of evidence to corroborate Iman’s account. In addition, Mumbai police sources said, investigators have succeeded in reconstructing the group’s journey through the Garmin GPS set that has been seized.


Alleged terrorist name is Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman. They also alleged several calls were made to Pakistan. That will be easy to prove or disprove. Also outside agencies like FBI, UK, Israel are investigating the carnage. They will be able to conclude who was behind, I hope India & Pakistan both will respect their findings. Musharraf in UK said today this kind of terrorism wouldn't have happened under his watch.

 

[Vinod2070]

response to indian propoganda
live with lalat
Video Program Playing | Pakistan Herald

Thanks for sharing. It was a good listen. There was no video despite the title!

 

[kj123]

i want to say something that instead of getting defensive you'll should really have a good look at your country. You think only India is making these accusations? Every time there is an attack in the world who do you think people point fingers at? ISLAMIC GROUPS.

And because majority of your'll do not open your mouths and say how wrong these people are that is why the entire community gets blamed.

You want proof that Pakistan was involved in the mumbai blasts:
1) There were Satellite Phones found on the crime scene with calls made to Pakistan.
2) the terrorist who was arrested himself said that he was trained in Pakistan. You need a bigger proof?

Do you'll think only you'll are affected because of the blames? Do you know how the Muslim community has to live over here? With no one trusting them. And do you know why that is? Because when there are these terrorists over there no one speaks up. No one fights corruption. We fought for our freedom together.Our leaders gave up their lives for what? for this? so that we argue and try to win a piece of land? Is that the legacy we want to leave our future generation.

Do you know when freedom fighters were fighting for our independence what they said? they said "do not cry for us, do not shed a tear. You belittle our passion our cause by crying. Just remember one thing tomorrow when your kids grow up tell them how we scarificed our future so that they could have one".

Is this what they scarf iced them selves for? I am not saying that you'll are wrong or anything. Even we make mistakes. But these arguments happen because of our governments political mind games. As citizens of our countries we should standup and fight for our right to live in peace. So that tomorrow our kids can have a secure future.

It is said one bad seed spoils the entire crop. You'll as a nation instead always saying oh we are getting blamed we are not like this etc etc. should raise your voice against the government against the people who are involved in these activities so that your'll can raise your heads and live.

I have relatives who are Muslims and they tell me about the lessons in the Quran and they are always so good. You'll should raise your voice to protect the name of this holy book. So that tomorrow people look at you'll with respect and not contempt.

 

[dr.umer]

Zardari says no evidence of Pakistani link to Mumbai attacks, pledges help with investigation ​

WASHINGTON, Dec 3 (APP): President Asif Ali Zardari has strongly rejected suggestions that Pakistan was in some way involved in last week’s deadly attacks on Mumbai, asserting no evidence has been brought forward to substantiate such claims.Appearing in CNN’s Larry King Live, Zardari said he believed that the Mumbai attackers were ‘stateless actors,’ and that the stateof Pakistan was in no way responsible for the attacks. He pledged to look into any proof of any Pakistani individual’s link to the Mumbai incident, if it is provided to Islamabad.

“I think these are stateless actors who have been operating all throughout the region,” the Pakistani leader stated Tuesday night in the interview, during which he pointed out that Pakistan itself has been a victim of terrorism and fighting the menace resolutely.

“The gunmen plus the planners, whoever they are, (are) stateless actors who have been holding hostage the whole world,” he added.

“The state of Pakistan is in no way responsible,” Zardari stated, while also sympathizing with the Indian victims of the tragedy.

“... Even the White House and the American CIA have said that today. The state of Pakistan is, of course, not involved. We’re part of the victims, Larry. I’m a victim. The state of Pakistan is a victim. We are the victims of this war, and I am sorry for the Indians, and I feel sorry for them.”

The president said his elected government has nothing to do with any militant activity against India.

“I can assure the world from my side, from my Army’s side, from my parliament’s side and the people of Pakistan that we are not helping any such activity.”

Zardari confirmed he is willing to have Pakistani security officials participate with India in a joint investigation.

“We have offered to take this step forward and cooperate with the Indians. I am willing to have my security advisor and their

security in charge of our intelligence security and their intelligence security, have a joint committee which we have proposed to the Indians for a joint investigation in the Mumbai incident.”

Asked about the suspect in custody, who, the Indians claim to be a Pakistani, Zardari said: “We have not been given any tangible proof to say that he is definitely a Pakistani. I very much doubt it, Larry, that he is a Pakistani.”

He told the channel that the stateless individuals are killing citizens in Pakistan. “Like I said, these are stateless individuals. ... We’ve had incidents the past two days in Karachi where we’ve lost more than 40 to 45 people, hundreds injured. These are stateless actors who are moving throughout this region.”

“I am definitely going to look into all the possibility of any proof that is given to us,” Zardari said when questioned about Indian allegations.

“At the moment, these are just names of individuals. No proof, no investigation, nothing has been brought forward,” he said in response to a question about New Delhi asking for certain individuals.

If proof of the individuals’ involvement is provided, he said, “We would try them in our courts, we would try them in our land, and we would sentence them.”

Zardari said in answer to another question that ‘Lashkar‑e‑Tayyiba’ is a “banned organization” in Pakistan and around the world.
“If indeed they are involved, we would not know,” he said.

“Again, they are people who operate outside the system. They operate like—al Qaeda, for instance, is not state‑oriented. They operate something on that mechanism, and ... I’ve already offered India full cooperation on this incident, and we intend to do that.”

“I’m firmly committed to fighting terrorism per se,” he said.

“That’s why we are fighting them every day.”

Questioned about the possibility of Indian military strikes against terrorist camps in Pakistan, Zardari cautioned it would be counterproductive to collective efforts against terrorism in the region.

“I would not agree with that because this is a time to come together and do a joint investigation and look at the problem in the larger context. We have a larger threat on our hands.”

“The threat is in the region, and just not to Mumbai or to India.

The threat to the state of Pakistan. There’s a threat to the state of Afghanistan. It’s a threat throughout the region. So that would be counterproductive.”

On whether the Mumbai attacks could trigger a fourth war between the two South Asian nuclear powers, Zardari said: “democracies don’t go to war. All those wars you’re talking about did not take place in any democracy. They all happened in the times of dictators. ...”

“The whole nation of Pakistan is united to ... becoming friends with India,” he said.

Zardari said he stands for working towards peace with India.

“I am looking forward and I am hoping that I will be the catalyst that makes India and Pakistan live in peace forever”. I am looking forward to making it a regional economical zone. I am looking forward to working in all walks of life together and India is a neighbor, it is one billion plus people, it’s a market, it’s an opportunity, relations with India is an opportunity for Pakistan.”

 

[dr.umer]

You want proof that Pakistan was involved in the mumbai blasts:
1) There were Satellite Phones found on the crime scene with calls made to Pakistan.

It has been reported by "Hindu" that terrorist were not in contact with anyone in Pakistan.

2) the terrorist who was arrested himself said that he was trained in Pakistan. You need a bigger proof?

Pakistan also needs to interrogate that terrorist before reaching conclusion. Words of mouth specially confessions are not proofs.

 

[Vinod2070]

It has been reported by "Hindu" that terrorist were not in contact with anyone in Pakistan.

That report doesn't talk of satellite phone. It just said that:

Police sources also said there was no substance in reports that the terrorists had communicated with their command headquarters in Pakistan using mobile phones.

I don't see any mention of the satellite phone communication from the boat.

Pakistan also needs to interrogate that terrorist before reaching conclusion. Words of mouth specially confessions are not proofs.

It should be supplemented by other supporting evidence like phone intercepts (which USA is also likely to independently have), the equipment found on the boat, the forensic reports, the earlier intelligence alerts (some of which were communicated by the USA to India) etc.

 

[dr.umer]

That report doesn't talk of satellite phone.

But it does talk about NOT being in contact with anyone in Pakistan.

 

[dr.umer]

Email sent after Mumbai attack traced to Russia

Video

 

[dr.umer]

2 SIMs from Bengal used in 26/11 attacks​

3 Dec 2008

KOLKATA: Is there a Kolkata link to the terror attacks in Mumbai? Reports suggest that at least two SIM cards used by the terrorists were from West Bengal.

City police chief Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti said on Tuesday that the details of the SIM cards were still not available with the Kolkata Police. "We are in constant touch with the Mumbai police. We are definitely going to probe the links, if any," Chakrabarti said.

Sources said the possible locations from where the SIM cards were bought are central Kolkata’s Burrabazar and Jorasanko and also Basirhat in North 24-Parganas and Metiabruz in the southern fringes.

The sources said that Mumbai police have already got in touch with Kolkata Police’s STF, state IB and CID. The details of the SIM cards will be sent to the three agencies by Wednesday morning.

According to sources, a recce team of the terrorists came to Mumbai some four months back and on their way back to Bangladesh, the team passed through Bengal. The SIM cards were bought in the name of one Hossainur Rahman from Basirhat. The address is being verified.