26/11 Mumbai attack: 12 yrs on, Pakistan yet to prosecute key accused

Twelve yrs have handed since the deadly 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai and Pakistan has nevertheless to take action on the many dossiers shared by India. None of the primary accused in the situation have been prosecuted so much.

The Nationwide Investigation Company, which probed the conspiracy driving the assault, experienced submitted a demand sheet versus 9 people: David Headley, Hafiz Saeed, Tahawwur Rana, two serving Pakistani army officials Important Iqbal and Significant Sameer Ali, Ilyas Kashmiri, Sajid Malik and Abdul Rehman Hashmi.

Household Ministry sources say that the dossiers shared with Islamabad contained critical pieces of evidence which include statements from essential witnesses and FBI officers, data about the SIM playing cards utilized by the attackers and the GPS coordinates they relied on to carry out the terror attacks.

The dossiers also contained DNA reports of the 10 Pakistani terrorists involved in the attack as perfectly as the deposition of a Mumbai magistrate prior to whom the lone captured Pakistani gunman, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, had provided a voluntary confession of his alleged involvement in the assaults.

Govt resources said that in his assertion to the magistrate, Kasab confessed that the conspiracy for the assaults was hatched in Pakistan by terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives such as the alleged mastermind Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi.

There is also crucial evidence in the variety of results from FBI officers, who explained to the trial courtroom in Mumbai that the cell telephones recovered from the terror sites were being utilised by the terrorists to converse with their handlers in Pakistan through the siege. It was dependent on these depositions that the FBI arrested David Headley and Tahawwur Rana.

While the house ministry pursues Rana’s extradition from the US (and the NIA is hopeful of laying fingers on him shortly), Pakistan’s failure to take motion towards the perpetrators on its soil, or prosecute any of the accused, shows its absence of dedication in direction of countering terrorism.

A case in point is Sajid Mir, the mastermind of the Mumbai assaults, who is wished by five countries—India, US, Denmark, Australia and France. Nevertheless, he carries on to be at massive in Pakistan. The US place report on terrorism 2019 has also mentioned this.

The US Section of Justice has also filed a case from Sajid Mir and Abdul Rehman Pasha. However, Pakistan has neither arrested not prosecuted Pasha. Whilst present in Pakistan, his whereabouts are mysterious.

Property ministry resources mentioned that in response to Indian dossiers, Pakistan had requested New Delhi to hand Kasab more than in get to facilitate the demo of Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives like commander Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi and six other folks billed with involvement in the strikes in a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court docket.

Nonetheless, Pakistan has been performing a U-convert on its promises, proclaiming a absence of evidence—a declare which has only exposed its unwell intentions as properly as its very poor observe record in countering terror. Even further, in a bid to deflect notice from alone, Pakistan has also been attempting to go on the warmth of worldwide scrutiny to India by making an attempt to raise challenges of militancy in Kashmir at various global message boards.

India is now hoping that even while the Mumbai terror assault trial in Pakistan looks to have absent off observe, energetic cooperation with the FBI and US state division may possibly support lay fingers on Tahawwur Rana. On June 10, 2020, the Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman was re-arrested in Los Angeles on an extradition ask for by India.

If Rana is extradited to India, the NIA is hoping to get refreshing ammunition versus Pakistan in the variety of further proof and assertion to consider the demo ahead by putting Islamabad on a tighter leash to choose action in the Mumbai terror attack scenario.