courtesy ht nov 13

Pak’s terror list omits key 26/11 accused, says India
Says the list includes a select few members of the LeT, including the crew members of the boats used to execute the terror attacks in Mumbai

India has accused LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, who is currently in jail in Lahore after being convicted of terror financing, of masterminding the Mumbai attacks. Ht archive
Rezaul H Laskar

letters@hindustantimes.com

New Delhi : India on Thursday dismissed Pakistan’s updated list of wanted high profile terrorists, which includes 19 suspects linked to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, saying the document “glaringly omits the mastermind and key conspirators” of the carnage in the financial hub.

The list of wanted terrorists, posted on the website of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), names mostly members of the crew of two boats used by the attackers to travel to Mumbai and those who helped finance the attacks through money transfers. Most of the 19 men are members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

External affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava noted there were media reports in Pakistan about the FIA releasing an updated list of most wanted and high profile terrorists that included “several Pakistani nationals involved in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks”.

“While the list includes a select few members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a UN designated terror entity based in Pakistan, including the crew members of the boats used to execute the 26/11 attacks, it glaringly omits the mastermind and key conspirators of the heinous terror attack,” he told a weekly news briefing.

India has accused LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, who is currently in jail in Lahore after being convicted of terror financing, of masterminding the Mumbai attacks. Pakistan has repeatedly contended that it has found no evidence linking Saeed to the attacks of November 2008.

Srivastava pointed out that the Mumbai terror attacks were “planned, executed and launched from Pakistan’s territory” and said: “The list makes it clear that Pakistan possesses all the necessary information and evidence on the conspirators and facilitators of the Mumbai terror attacks based in Pakistan.” The Indian government has “repeatedly called on the government of Pakistan to give up its obfuscation and dilatory tactics in discharging its international obligations in the Mumbai terror attacks trial”, he added.

Several other countries have called on Pakistan to “expeditiously bring the perpetrators of the dastardly terror attacks to justice”, Srivastava said.

It is a “matter of serious concern that, despite its own public acknowledgement as well as the availability of all necessary evidence, including that shared by India, Pakistan is yet to show sincerity in delivering justice to the families of 166 victims from 15 countries...even as we near the 12th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks”, he said.

Pakistan arrested seven men, including LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, for planning, financing and supporting the attacks. Lakhvi was released on bail in 2015 and his current whereabouts are unknown.

There has been no progress in the trial of the seven men in an anti-terrorism court despite testimony from dozens of officials and witnesses and information shared by India and the US.

The 19 men named in connection with the Mumbai attacks in FIA’s updated list of wanted high profile terrorists include Muhammad Amjad Khan, a LeT member who purchased the boat Al Fouz and other equipment used in the attacks, Iftikhar Ali, a LeT member who paid for a VoIP connection used by the attackers, and Shahid Ghafoor, a LeT member who was captain of the boats Al Hussaini and Al Fouz that were used by the attackers.

The list also includes Abdul Rahman, Muhammad Usman, Ateeq-ur-Rehman, Riaz Ahmad, Muhammad Mushtaq, Muhammad Naeem, Abdul Shakoor, Muhammad Sabir Salfi, Muhammad Usman and Shakil Ahmad (all LeT operatives who were crew members of the two boats), Muhammad Usman Zia, Muhammad Abbas Nasir, Javed Iqbal, Mukhtar Ahmed and Ahmed Saeed (all LeT members who helped finance the attacks), and Muhammad Khan, a LeT member who provided the boat Al Hussaini.

The updated list has a total of 1,210 terrorists wanted for various crimes and attacks.