Pakistan says fresh Indian dossier inadequate

By Baqir Sajjad Syed

Friday, 07 Aug, 2009 | 05:42 AM PST |

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has said that the fresh dossier provided by India is inadequate to prosecute the alleged mastermind and facilitators of the Mumbai attacks being tried by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi.

‘Our security agencies, who have studied and analysed the latest dossier from India, have concluded that New Delhi has not provided enough information required by us,’ a senior official told Dawn. He said that there were a lot of gaps in the dossier and cautioned that it could be of little help in prosecuting the accused.

On July 11, while updating India on the progress made in the Mumbai attacks probe, Pakistan had sought more information for the prosecution of the accused.

The information sought by Pakistan pertained to the forensics of the confiscated GPS equipment; details of the text messages exchanged by terrorists; particulars of Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin, the Indian accomplices; the statement of the magistrate who recorded the testimony of Ajmal Kasab; and particulars of VoIP calls.

Pakistan had also asked for the authenticated copies of Kasab’s statement and translation of the information India had earlier provided in Hindi and Marathi languages.

India handed over its reply on August 1, claiming that it was a ‘detailed dossier of evidence’. Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram had said that after the latest dossier, he did not expect Pakistan to have any further questions.

However, after a detailed study of the dossier, Pakistani security agencies have found little useful information in it, particularly with regards to what they had asked for.

Among the many deficiencies, an official said, the Indians had again failed to provide the forensic details of the GPS gadgetry. Pakistan had asked for it because the GPS coordinates given by India of the route followed by the terrorists while travelling by sea from Karachi to Mumbai had a number of gaps and inconsistencies. Moreover, the attested copies of Kasab’s confessional statement have not been provided either.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit, at a press briefing on Thursday, also expressed dissatisfaction over the India dossier, saying the evidence given by New Delhi against Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed was inadequate.

‘It also needs to be underlined that we have received information material from India, but the material contained in that dossier regarding Hafiz Saeed is not really enough and doesn’t strengthen our hands to proceed legally,’ he said.

However, the spokesman reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to continue the trial of the accused.

‘We are proceeding in accordance with our own laws. We are moving forward as far as the trial of those involved in the Mumbai attacks is concerned.’

The trial of five accused will resume on August 29, while 13 others are absconding.

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Mumbai Terror Trial Delayed After Gunman's Lawyer Dismissed

15 April 2009
An Indian court has delayed the trial of the only surviving gunman in last year's Mumbai terrorist attacks, after dismissing the defendant's lawyer.

The judge, M.L. Tahaliyani, ruled Wednesday that the lawyer, Anjali Waghmare, could not represent Mohammed Ajmal Kasab because she is also counsel for a witness to the Mumbai attacks, causing an apparent conflict of interest.

Anjali Waghmare, center, turns away from journalists as she comes out of the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, India,15 Apr 2009
Anjali Waghmare, center, turns away from journalists as she comes out of the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, ,15 Apr 2009
The judge said Waghmare had failed to disclose she was representing the witness, who was injured in the attacks. He said another lawyer will be appointed to represent Kasab.

Kasab, a Pakistani national, then asked the judge to provide him with a Pakistani lawyer.

Kasab is one of 10 gunmen accused of involvement in the attacks on luxury hotels, a train station and a Jewish community center. The attacks left about 170 people dead.

He faces charges including murder and "waging war" against India, and could face the death penalty if convicted.

Kasab made his first public appearance in a brief court session Wednesday in a special bomb-proof courtroom at the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai. Police barricaded the surrounding neighborhood as a security precaution.

Two Indian men, Sabauddin Ahmed and Fahim Ansari, accused of providing support to the militants are also being tried.

India has blamed the Mumbai attacks on Lashkhar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based Islamist militant group. The Pakistani government has admitted the attacks were partially planned in Pakistan.

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A true copy of Final Report on 26/11 attack submitted to court

FINAL FORM / REPORT
(Under Section 173 Cr.P.C.)
IN THE COURT OF
ADDL. CH. M.M., 37TH COURT, ESPLANADE, MUMBAI.
The Chief Investigating Officer of the sensational and diabolic attacks by the
terrorists at different iconic locations in Mumbai on 26th November 2008, hereby
submits a report under Section 173 of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 as under.
A heinous criminal conspiracy has been planned and hatched in Pakistan
by the internationally banned Lashkar-e-Taiba to execute a series of attacks at
prominent places in Mumbai, the financial capital of the country on 26th
November 2008. This was with the express intention to destabilize India, wage
war against this country, terrorize its citizens, create financial loss and issue a
warning to other countries whose citizens were also targetted , humiliated and
cold-bloodedly killed. This Fidayeen Mission was part of a larger criminal
conspiracy planned in Pakistan for attacking the commercial capital of India with
intent to wage war, to weaken India economically and to create terror and dread
amongst the citizens of the Mumbai metropolis in particular and India in general
and, thereby, through the said unlawful activities its perpetrators committed
terrorist acts.
Lashkar-e-Taiba (Lashkar-e Tayyiba; literally means Army of the Good,
translated as Army of the Righteous, or Army of the Pure) — also pronounced and
spelt as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkari-
Taiba, or LeT — is one of the largest, most active and lethal militant
organizations in South Asia...

copy paste the below link in a browser for downloading report (http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f=a5445eb27b0b6f1cf4ef5fd823706cec)

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Ujjwal Nikam:The man who will prosecute Kasab

Interview by Rediff.com
Special Public Prosecutor

February 06, 2009
He is the lawyer, who will prosecute Ajmal Amir Kasab , the lone surviving terrorist involved in the Mumbai terror attacks , once the chargesheet is filed and the trial commences. He is not some high-flying legal eagle practicing in the Supreme Court. Ujjwal Nikam, special public prosecutor in the case, will try Kasab under Indian law without a battery of lawyers or any senior legal assistant. He says he will fight the case with the help of a police paltan (team) who are through at their job.

Nikam hails from Jalgaon in Maharashtra and continues living there. He is neither computer savvy nor does he flaunt legal knowledge or stuff his talk with legal precedent or landmark judgments.

His mastery lies in coordinating and communicating well with the investigating officer of the case and reading the case papers minutely. When a trial is on, he gets up at 4.30 am to read the case papers.

Nikam is a familiar face for television viewers because he has fought many celebrated cases. The list includes the Bombay blasts case of March 12, 1993, the Gulshan Kumar murder case, the Pramod Mahajan [Images] murder trial, the Gateway of India blasts case of 2003, the Khairlangi Dalit murder case and the Nadeem extradition case which was fought in London.

His CV states that he has successfully sought life imprisonment for convicts 618 times and the death penalty 33 times. His father was a well-known barrister in Jalgaon; his son is pursuing law in the US.

When he is in Mumbai, Nikam lives in a south Mumbai hotel, but returns to Jalgaon on weekends.

As he gets ready to take on another important case in his 30-year legal career he chatted with rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt about his legal approach to the case.

How do you look at an event like the Mumbai terror attacks?

The terror strikes were shocking and never anticipated. We never thought that foreign terrorists will attack us openly and in such a brazen manner. I think the challenge is not only to the investigating agency but also to the prosecutor.

No doubt, one of the terrorists has been apprehended, but it is a challenge to provide the entire evidence in court about how the conspiracy was hatched, how it progressed and how it ended with the attacks on Mumbai.

Basically, it appears an open and shut case. I personally feel this is a case of a deep-rooted conspiracy.

I have no hesitation to say that this is a proxy war against India. The modality and system that the terrorists have adopted clearly indicates that they have undergone training in handling sophisticated weapons as well as how to plant bombs. It clearly indicates that it is State-sponsored terrorism.

What is being revealed so far during the course of investigation clearly indicates that masters behind the conspiracy have taken a lot of efforts in attacking Mumbai.

How do you see the investigation of the Mumbai police so far?

I have no idea of the details of the investigation because the investigating agency has not filed the chargesheet. But the Mumbai police are quite efficient. They will discharge their functions diligently. The Mumbai attacks case will be the finest investigated police case in the country.

How different is this case from other cases of terrorism you have fought?

If compared to previous cases, the modalities in the operations were different. In this case, these terrorists were fidayeen. They had decided to kill people and get killed themselves. It was surprising that foreign terrorists entered like this and opened war against India.

I find a material difference between earlier terror attacks and this one.

Is it a difficult case to fight in court?

Since the chargesheet is not filed, I can't say much. On the basis of reading newspapers, I can surely say that the prosecution will have a good case. We have footage of the close-circuit cameras, photographs of the terrorists, taped conversations, and their talks abroad have already been intercepted by the intelligence agencies. So the motive behind the attack can be adequately established.

So far as the case against Kasab is concerned we have more than sufficient evidence. We will have a strong case against Kasab.

Anyway, I don't see this as an exceptional case of my life because I have fought many more difficult cases. My attempt in this case is to go to the bottom of the conspiracy.

What about your security?

I have Z-category security. The government is taking care of it. But let me tell you I believe in destiny.

How do you label this case?

I take the attack as proxy war. The manner in which the terrorists were trained in Pakistan, they were provided with Argees hand grenades, which were also used in the 1993 Mumbai blasts.

I understand that the expectations of millions of people rides on bringing the terrorist to justice.

Let us wait and see how the police brings the evidence against Kasab.

I take the attack as an act of war.

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How interrogators beat Kasab at his own game

Vicky Nanjappa in Mumbai |
December 05, 2008
Source Rediff.com
Guarding the lone arrested terrorist, Ajmal Kasab, and also ensuring that the man is consistent in his confessions is probably one of the biggest challenges for both the Mumbai Anti Terrorist Squad and the Intelligence Bureau.

Both the IB and the ATS, which are interrogating Kasab simultaneously, say Kasab is a tough nut to crack and gives out information in bits and pieces. The bigger worry for both these agencies is to ensure that the man is consistent in his statements and also ensure that he does not keep changing his stance every now and then.

According to the IB, the ATS questions Kasab first and there is only a two-minute gap before the IB moves in to resume the questioning. ATS and IB sources told rediff.com that the short gap between interrogation by the two agencies is deliberate so that Kasab does not have the time to think up new versions. There have been times when he has told the ATS one thing and when the IB steps in he has given an entirely new spin to the Mumbai terror strikes.

This, according to the ATS, is due to the training he received as a fidayeen to dodge interrogation by constantly changing his version and misguide the investigating agencies.

Which is why both the agencies are hardly giving Kasab any time by himself to think up what to say next. "We ensure that our questions are specific and to the point. We expect him to answer only those questions that we ask and a questionnaire has been prepared in this regard. We go through the same questions over and over again, and the biggest challenge for us is to ensure that Kasab is consistent in his replies," both agencies say.

Apart from getting details about the terror network and its modus operandi, his nationality is also a prime aspect of the interrogation. "Kasab has consistently maintained that he is from Pakistan and we have ample proof of it. We want to subject him to a narco-analysis test so that we can seal this issue," the ATS says.

In custody Kasab is said to be very unsteady. There are times when he is extremely enthusiastic and at times he has shown signs of depression and goes completely quiet, ATS sources say. "We are not taking any chances and are keeping a 24x7 vigil on him. A constable is with him all the time."

Kasab is being moved to undisclosed locations from time to time due to security reasons. "He is definitely on the hit list and hence we do not want to take any chances," ATS sources said.

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Kasab - Bane of Indo-Pak Contentions

Akbar Khan
Bhopal, February 15, 2009
Visionmp.com News Service

As first suggested in an editorial on this website Pakistan on Saturday said that it may seek the custody of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone 26/11 attacker captured alive by Indian security agencies, to bring a probe into the matter to its logical conclusion, India however, shot down the idea saying there was no way it could happen.

"If Ajmal Kasab is needed for the investigation process, then India could be asked (to hand) him over," Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters in Karachi on Saturday.


India was quick to react, saying there was no way this could happen.


"The crime was committed in India. There is no question of handing Kasab to them. In fact, Pakistan should hand over to India the other suspects they've arrested because they were responsible for this terror attack. It can't be the other way around," sources in the Indian external affairs ministry were quoted as saying by IANS.



"On what basis do we send Kasab out there? The crime was committed out here (in Mumbai), therefore logic and reasoning demands that the suspects who they've rounded up be sent here (to India)," the sources said.



India and Pakistan do not share a valid extradition treaty, and New Delhi is now likely to use its offices to rally international efforts to press for its demands on a visibly isolated Islamabad.



The chances of India launching an all-out diplomatic campaign against Pakistan at this juncture, however, are feebled by the onset of general elections in the country that the ruling-UPA government faces over the next quarter.



Soon after Islamabad lodged an FIR against Kasab, an editorial on this website on February 11 read: “The Pak maneuver may soon see Islamabad seek Kasab’s custody to bring him to book in Pakistan.”



India’s reluctance to pass Kasab on to Pakistan may now result in a mild sympathy for Islamabad in international circles, as the country is sure to cry itself hoarse on how credible its efforts to bring the 26/11 culprits to book were, but failed due to India’s reluctance on the matter.



Continuing with trademark Pakistani rope-a-dope tactics Malik said, "we first had to register an FIR (first information report on the Mumbai strikes). This has been done. Now, if our investigators recommend, we will ask for access to him (Kasab)," Malik added.

He however clarified that Islamabad had not yet asked for Kasab's custody, his statements may well have been an effort to sound out the Indian diplomats on the issue.

Kasab is one of the eight suspects named in the FIR registered by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency on the Mumbai strikes. Six of the suspects have been arrested while the whereabouts of two are suspect.

Kasab is currently in Mumbai police custody, which expires February 26,and is definitely the strongest evidence India holds of Pakistani involvement in the barbaric three day attack on India’s commercial capital Mumbai.

Over 170 people, including 26 foreigners, were killed in the Nov 26-29, 2008 strikes that India blames on “elements in Pakistan.”

Indian security forces killed nine of the 10 attackers after an operation that lasted for more than 60 hours while Kasab was captured alive.

(Akbar Khan is News Editor visionmp.com)




http://www.visionmp.com/News-Feb/15022009/150209104.html

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Kasab alive by his destiny or is a sheer coincidence that he is alive?

///Maharashtra police commandos were ordered to kill Kasab////

Kasab alive by his destiny or is a sheer coincidence that he is alive? Whatever!

As soon after he was captured at Girgaum Chowpatty on November 26 Maharashtra police commandos had got orders to eliminate Kasab en route to the hospital, allegedly from the local deputy commissioner of police. However, until then, they had almost reached the hospital and so, Kasab could not be killed.

Had Kasab been killed, the entire investigation into the 26/ 11 Mumbai terror strike would have fallen apart.

“It was not immediately apparent how important Qasab would be to the investigation that followed. But after hearing that he and his partner Ismail Khan had shot dead three senior police officers — ATS chief, additional commissioner of police and encounter specialist— near Cama Hospital, the police were furious and wanted to kill both the terrorists.” said sources.

Kasab and Khan had fled from Cama Hospital in a Toyota Qualis that belonged to the police. They later abandoned it after it broke down near Metro Cinema, where they again fired shots killing one and injuring many others.

They finally arrived near Girgaum Chowpatty in a silver Skoda Octavia. It was here that Khan was killed and Kasab captured alive, mainly because of assistant sub- inspector Tukaram Omble, who held the barrel of Kasab’s AK- 47 directly at himself. Kasab emptied the entire barrel into Omble, who died on the spot.

The police arrested Kasab in the time he took to reload his rifle. It was then that the state commando unit was told to capture Kasab.

The commandos nevertheless beat up Kasab on the way, but sources said he was so highly trained that he never wilted.“Kasab also made attempts to kill himself, he tried to hold his breath in an attempt to kill himself.

Even when he was being taken to the hospital, he was trying to get hold of something on his person to kill himself. Once in the hospital, the commandos immediately tied him to the hospital bed and secured the area. Onlookers were shooed away. He was kept spread- eagled on the bed so that he could not use his hands to pick up anything nearby and kill himself.

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