US does not rule out Headley-Shahzad connection

Washington, May 8 (IANS) The United States has not ruled out a connection between two Pakistani Americans, key Mumbai terror plotter David Coleman Headley and failed Times square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad, as it probes all angles of the case.

‘Well, it could be – there have been multiple plots that have involved the United States and Pakistan, citizens on both sides who have chosen to take these actions,’ a State Department spokesman said Friday when asked if there was any connection between the two cases.

‘I’m not aware that there’s any specific connection, but clearly, we are looking to see, while this individual was in Pakistan, who he met with, what support, if any, was provided,’ spokesman Philip J. Crowley told reporters.

‘And that is the reason why we are working so closely with Pakistan on this investigation.’

Asked whether the US was in touch with India about the Times Square incident, Crowley noted the two countries have a regular dialogue on counter-terrorism issues, but could not say at this point if there was an Indian link.

‘I mean, we have regular dialogue with India, including on counter-terrorism issues,’ he said. ‘I can’t say at this point there’s an Indian link to this case, but we do have dialogue with India on a regular basis on terrorism issues.’

Earlier, ABC News citing unnamed sources traced Shahzad’s links to another Pakistani militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad and suggested he was a childhood friend of one of the alleged masterminds of the 2008 Mumbai massacre.

However, the television network did not identify the Pakistani mastermind.

The Pakistani Taliban are denying any role in the failed car bombing, but have praised Shahzad for a ‘brave job done’, ABC said noting the suspected bomber was also in contact with former Tehreek-e-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud who was killed in a US missile strike in 2009.

‘The Mehsuds had been family friends of Shahzad, who is a son of a former high ranking Pakistani military officer,’ ABC News said quoting Pakistani sources.

Shahzad was reported to be in touch with a man named Mohammad Rehan, a suspected Jaish militant who helped him to travel to Peshawar and then to Waziristan and introduced him to Taliban.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)

Failed Times Square bomber was 26/11 mastermind’s childhood friend: Officials

Washington, May 7 (ANI): Sources close to the investigations concerning confessed Times Square bomb plotter Faisal Shahzad have revealed that he has claimed that he was childhood friends with one of the masterminds of the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, in which 166 people were killed by Pakistani terrorists.

According to ABC News, intelligence sources privy to investigations into the botched bombing plot, Shahzad has claimed that he had contacts with many top notch extremist leaders, such as killed Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, radical American-born Muslim cleric Anwar Awlaki and others.

However, the name of the Mumbai attacks mastermind with whom Shahzad is said to have close relations were not revealed.

Shahzad is also said to be linked to a man named Muhammed Rehan, who is believed to be a Jaish-e-Muhamed (JeM) operative and is in the custody of Pakistani authorities at present.

According to sources briefed on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) probe, Shahzad, during his interrogation has revealed that he was angry over the continuous US drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas, and that he had suffered a personal crisis in his life.

Shahzad has reportedly said he carried out the attempted bombing because he was under duress and that he feared for his family’s safety if he didn’t fulfill the mission, sources added. (ANI)

Table Kasab’s confessional statement: Pak SC to Lakhvi’s counsel

Islamabad, May 6 (ANI): A three-member Pakistan Supreme Court bench, consisting Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, has asked for the confessional statement of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving Mumbai terror attack gunman.

Hearing a petition filed by Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, who has been named as one of the chief conspirator of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, the apex court told Lakhvi’s lawyer, Sultan Khwaja to table Kasab’s confessional statement, which he made in a special anti-terror court in Mumbai.

Khwaja argued before the court that Lakhvi cannot be named a co-accused in the Mumbai attack case or be tried on the basis of Kasab’s statement.

“The statement was not given in a Pakistani court, so Lakhvi could not be named as a co-accused in the case or be tried,” Khwaja pleaded during the hearing over Lakhvi’s petition seeking quashing of criminal proceedings against him.

Following the argument, the court directed Khwaja to table Kasab’s statement in the court on the next hearing, and the hearing was adjourned till May 11, The Daily Times reports.

Talking to reporters after the hearing, Khwaja , who is defending the seven men being tried by an anti-terrorism court for abetting and planning the ghastly Mumbai attacks, said his clients would actually be benefited from the verdict of the special Mumbai court, which has convicted Kasab and acquitted the other two Indian’s accused of providing logistical support to the masterminds.

The special anti-terror court, which has been set up inside the Arthur road Jail in Mumbai, would announce the quantum of punishment for Kasab today (Thursday, May 6). (ANI)

Pak govt. committed to bring Benazir’s assassins to justice at any cost: Kaira

Islamabad, Apr.20 (ANI): Pakistan Information and Broadcasting Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira has said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government is committed to bring the masterminds of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s murder to justice.

Interacting with media persons after inaugurating a new building of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) here, Kaira said following the UN commission’s inquiry report, which blamed the then Musharraf regime of failing to provide adequate security cover to Bhutto, all those responsible for her assassination would be booked at any cost.

“Whosoever is found involved in killing Mohtarma would be punished under law no matter where residing,” The News quoted Kaira, as saying.

Kaira also blamed the then Musharraf government for not providing a fool proof security cover to Bhutto during her election rally at Rawalpindi’s Liaqat Bagh, where she was killed on December 27, 2007, saying the PPP government would ‘not spare criminals who deprived the people of Pakistan of a great leader.’

“Martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto is not only the loss for Pakistan but for the whole world,” he added.

Earlier, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said action against Musharraf in Bhutto’s assassination case would be taken after ‘concrete’ evidence is gathered against him. (ANI)

Chechen separatist leader claims responsibility for Moscow metro bombings

Moscow, Apr. 1 (ANI): Chechen separatist leader Doku Umarov aka Dokka Abu Usman has claimed responsibility for Monday’s Moscow metro bombings that killed 39 people.

In a video statement recorded on Monday, the leader of the Islamist ‘Emirate of the Caucasus’ said the attack was to avenge “the massacre by Russian invaders of the poorest residents of Chechnya and Ingushetia, who were picking wild garlic in the Arshty village on February 11, 2010, to feed their families.”

Fox News quoted Umarov, as saying that the troops stabbed their victims to death and then “mocked” their corpses.

He also warned of fresh strikes against Russia

“The war will come to your streets, and you will feel it with your own lives and skins,” he threatened.

It was the first claim of responsibility for Monday”s twin suicide attacks.

On Tuesday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered security forces to trap the masterminds of the metro bombings, saying they should be scraped out from the sewers.

Police, meanwhile, has released grisly photographs of the two bombers” severed heads.

According to reports, they had arrived in Moscow from the Caucasus by bus early Monday. (ANI)

Moscow attack: Russian security in search of 21 more ”black widow” bombers

Moscow, Mar.31 (ANI): Chilling images of the dead “black widow” suggest that they may have been among 30 women who were trained as suicide bombers in Turkey to strike at the heart of the Russian capital.

According to a news.com.au report Moscow bombers have been revealed – as it was claimed that 21 more may be ready to strike.

The Muslim women”s suicide attacks, the suicide bombers killed 39 people at two stations on the Russian capital”s metro on Monday.

The Sun quoted investigators, as saying that nine of the group are now thought to have died in attacks, and that 21 more have been readied to strike again.

The officials are racing to track down the others.

Said Buryatsky, dubbed the Russian Osama bin Laden, is thought to have trained the women from the war-torn Caucasus region. He was killed by security services last month.

Investigators have also released a photo of a suspected male accomplice. He is thought to have accompanied the bombers on a bus from the Caucasus.

On Tuesday, mourners laid flowers at makeshift memorials on the metro.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has vowed to hunt down the masterminds of the bombing “to the bottom of the sewers.” (ANI)

Journalism has a vital role to play in progress of a nation: Kapil Sibal

New Delhi, March 22 (ANI): Union Minister for Human Resources Development Kapil Sibal on Monday said that the journalism has a vital role to play in the progress of a nation.

Addressing during a programme related to the giving away of IPI-India Awards for Excellence in Journalism for the year 2009 in the national capital, Sibal said that the two key entities for democracy were Free Press and Free Judiciary.

On the aspect of freedom of speech, Sibal reminded the journalists that it does not merely mean passing adverse comments on any issue, event or a person but speaking for those millions who do not have the voice to express their grievances and make them heard.

In the same vein, Sibal also had a dig at politicians when he mentioned that a majority of the leaders do have the voice to say that they rarely use and it is the media that lets them speak. That is how he would define freedom of speech, Sibal stated.

Touching about the ‘Trial by Media’, Sibal said it has emerged due to the failure of the obligatory machinery of law.

Further, Sibal regretted the fact that these days several editors assign beats to journalists who lack the basic knowledge of the subject matter.

As such, he suggested, the journalists should cultivate commitment, passion, and attitude in their profession.

Earlier, Dr. Justice A. S. Anand, former Chief Justice of India had raised the topic of trial by the media.
He said that two odd trends in the media of late are against journalistic ethics namely; the media trial and the paid news.

The IPI-India Award for the year 2009 were presented to Bidisha Ghosal of The Week magazine for her in-depth coverage on sexual exploitation of the widows in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra after their farmer husbands had committed suicide.

The other award winner was Indian Express. It was conferred for the daily’s exposition of radical Hindus being the masterminds in the Malegaon blasts.

IPI-India is the Indian chapter of the Vienna-based International Press Institute, a forum of editors, media experts and journalists, and it is committed to free press. (ANI)

Pak rejects India’s sixth dossier, wants more proof against Saeed in 26/11 case

Islamabad, Sep.19 (ANI): Pakistan on Saturday rejected the sixth dossier received from India, saying that the contents provided in it were not enough to arrest or prosecute Hafiz Saeed, the main accused in the 26/11/2008 Mumbai terror attacks in a court of law and asked New Delhi to provide more evidence in connection with the case.

Addressing a news conference here after meeting Indian High Commissioner Sharad Sabharwal, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik said: “We want more evidence from India so that the case can be made solid and tangible.”

“We have submitted all information available to us, but we want more information to make our case solid,” said Malik, adding that in the absence of enough evidence, the court would exonerate Saeed for lack of authentic proof.

“We need forensic experts’ testimony on various evidences,” Malik said, adding: “We are fighting terror in Pakistan. We have been sincere in fighting it.”

“We have made progress in 26/11 probe despite sketchy information provided by India,” Malik also said.

Saying that legal proceedings against Saeed were on, Malik revealed details of the Pakistan Government’s efforts made so far.

He said that so far 101 witnesses had deposed, 126 items had been seized as incriminating evidence, and 25 hideouts had been identified. Bank accounts connected to the case have also been traced and identified, and the boats used have been discovered, he added.

Sources in the Indian Government said that Rehman’s rejection of the sixth dossier clearly indicated that Pakistan is not serious about taking the 26/11 probe to its logical conclusion, and reiterated their demand for the arrest and prosecution of all masterminds and accused in the case.

Earlier, during his meeting with High Commissioner Sabharwal, Malik reportedly discussed the progress being made by Pakistan in the 26/11 probe..

Malik said that if there is conclusive evidence before the establishment, charges would be framed against the seven accused.

Earlier, an anti-terrorism court here, which is conducting the trial of seven suspects linked with the Mumbai terror attacks of November 2008, including LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, on Saturday adjourned the hearing of the case till September 26.

No other details of the proceedings were available due to a strict media blackout imposed by Judge Baqir Ali Rana, who is conducting the trial inside the high-security Adiala Jail in the garrison city of Rawalpindi due to security reasons.

The hearings are being conducted in-camera and Rana has issued a gag order, citing national security concerns as well as the security of the accused and witnesses.

It is still not clear whether the seven accused have been formally indicted, though authorities have prepared two chargesheets against them.

Lawyers representing the accused said they had been directed by the judge to strictly adhere to the gag order and not to discuss the proceedings with the media.

Five LeT operatives Lakhvi, communications expert Zarar Shah, Abu al-Qama, Hamad Amin Sadiq and Shahid Jamil Riaz being tried by the anti-terrorism court.

They have been accused of providing training, financial support, accommodation, equipment and communications gear to the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai last year.

No details are available of the charges against the two other suspects, Jamil Ahmed and Younas Anjum.

Meanwhile, a lawyer representing Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed has said the two cases filed against his client are very weak and not sustainable in any court of law.

Saeed’s lawyer A K Dongar said the charges against his client were ridiculous. Dogar was referring to the two cases filed by Faisalabad Police – one relating to his sermon at the Royalton Hotel in Faisalabad’s Canal Road on August 27, and second for a speech at an Iftar dinner at Peoples Colony, Jaranwala Road Faisalabad on August 26, where he urged people to launch a holy war against those who’ve suppressed their rights.

“I have gone through both the FIRs against Saeed thoroughly. The charges against my client are very weak. He has expressed his views like any other Pakistani,” claimed Dogar.

According to the TIMES NOW television channel, two cases were registered against Saeed and one against his close aide Abu Jandal at police stations in Faisalabad, some 100 kilometers from Lahore.

On Friday, Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Islamabad must question Saeed, notwithstanding the fact that two cases had been filed against him that were not related to that tragic event.

Chidambaram said the authorities should avail the opportunity of questioning Saeed on the 26/11 episode also, once he is arrested.

“…I am told that it’s (FIRs agaisnt Hafiz Saeed) not related to the 26/11 attacks. Even if they apprehending him on some other charge, and use the opportunity to question him on his involvement in 26/11 attacks, that would be a significant progress in the case. I hope that they question him on 26/22 too,” Chidambaram told TIMES NOW after his US visit.

Insisting that Saeed should be tried for his involvement in the 26/11 terror attack, Chidambaram said: “There is no trial there. The trial has not started there. In fact, my complaint has been even before I visited the US, that we don’t have a date set for the trial and to best of the my knowledge, the first witness has not been examined.

Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna also asserted that the main agenda of his meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in New York would be to pressurise Islamabad in taking action against perpetrators of last year’s Mumbai terror attack.

Krishna said this while speaking to media persons at Turkmen capital Ashgabat during his visit to that country on Friday.

“I cannot spell out what exactly I can expect from such meetings. But this much I can assure that my attempt would be to impress upon the Pakistan foreign minister the desirability of taking action against the brains behind the Mumbai attack,” said Krishna.

The Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan and diplomats of the two nuclear-armed rivals are scheduled to meet in New York next week on the sidelines of the 64th session of the UN General Assembly. (ANI)

Cuddle parties, latest relaxation mantra for stressed out folks!

Washington, September 1 (ANI): People are turning to a new way of untangling those worked up nerves – cuddle parties.

The concept, that came into being five years ago, lets partakers to experience clean, safe and welcomed affection.

Masterminds Reid Mihalko and Marcia Baczynski’s cuddle party events boasts of bringing people together where all physical contact is sanctioned by the other guests, reports CBS News.

The gatherings, entry to which is priced at 30 dollars, were said to be for “strictly non-sexual hugging, stroking, spooning and massaging”. (ANI)

Karsaz bombing perpetrators may be behind Benazir’s assassination: Khosa

Islamabad, Aug.28 (ANI): Pakistan Attorney General Latif Khosa has said that the masterminds of the October, 2007 Karsaz bombing in Karachi may also have been involved in former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.

Interacting with media persons after meeting the two members of the UN commission probing Bhutto’s assassination, Khosa said the commission was doing a ‘wonderful job’ and it has a mandate to complete the probe within six months.

“The commission has been given a ‘free hand’ to interrogate anyone,” The Daily Times quoted Khosa, as saying.

When asked that whether the government has asked the commission to quiz former President General Pervez Musharraf, Khosa said : ” don’t know whether Musharraf is a suspect in Benazir’s murder or not.”

He, however, refused to divulge details of the meeting. (ANI)

Pak yet to receive Interpol’s Red Corner notice against Saeed : Malik

London, Aug.27 (ANI): Pakistan has said that it has not received any ‘Red Corner’ notice from Interpol against Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed.

Interacting with media persons after a meeting with his British counterpart, Allen Johnson, here, Interior Advisor Rehman Malik said Islamabad is yet to receive any red warrant against Saeed .

“If we get any red warrants, we shall look into the matter,” The Nation quoted Malik, as saying.

On Tuesday, Interpol issued a Red Corner Notice against Saeed, and Zaki -ur- Rehman Lakhvi who are considered the masterminds of 26/11.

The notice was issued after a Mumbai court issued non-bailable warrants against both terrorists.

He reiterated that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud has been killed in US drone attack and claimed that he has ‘unconfirmed’ reports that Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali-ur-Rehman Mehsud too have been killed in the infighting for Taliban leadership.

When asked about the row between the PML-N and MQM, he said it was their own problem, however, he is ready to sort out issues if both parties ask him for help.

“The PPP can’t give its stance unless something comes to light. The party is impartial in this matter,” Malik said. (ANI)

Krishna to Pakistan: Shun go -slow policy against 26/11 perpetrators

New Delhi, Aug 26 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna on Wednesday criticised Pakistan’s go-slow policy on 26/11 perpetrators and asked Islamabad to immediately act against Lashkar-e- Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed.

On Tuesday Interpol issued a Red Corner Notice against Saeed, and Zaki -ur- Rehman Lakhvi who are considered the masterminds of 26/11.

The notice was issued after a Mumbai court issued non-bailable warrants against both terrorists. peaking to newsmen here Krishna said, “Interpol’s Red Corner Notice on Saeed is the vindication of what India says. The perpetrators of Mumbai attack will have to be brought to be justice. We have painstakingly collected evidence to convey the involvement of the persons.”

He termed Pakistan’s rejection of India’s fifth dossier as unfortunate.

“It is very unfortunate that the Pakistan has rejected the dossier, but at the same time Interpol has given a Red Corner notice. I think the world should take note of these developments and come to their own conclusion,” Krishna said.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Tuesday that if India does not provide tangible information on the 26/11 attacks and the Samjhauta Express tragedy, Islamabad would not be responsible for any future terrorist attacks in India.

Krishna, however, added that India would continue to impress on Pakistan to act on terrorist organizations.

India had also sent proof and request for issuing Red Corner notice against Lashkar commander Zarar Shah and Abu Al Qama. Interpol said that it was analyzing the evidence against them. (ANI)

Six suicide attack bids foiled in Islamabad in last 45 days: Malik

Islamabad, July 13 (ANI): The Pakistan Prime Minister’s Advisor on Interior Affairs, Rehman Malik, has claimed that security agencies have foiled six suicide bombing bids on Islamabad in past 45 days.

Talking to media persons on the sidelines of a traffic police function here, Malik said that 31 militants had been arrested in the recent past.

He also claimed that police had nabbed the masterminds of the suicide attacks, The News reports. (ANI)

Indo-Pak talks only possible if Mumbai accused successfully prosecuted: Miliband

Islamabad, July 9 (ANI): The resumption of the stalled peace talks between India and Pakistan rests on the successful prosecution of the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai carnage, British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband has said.

Addressing a joint press conference with his Pakistan counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Miliband said the thaw in Indo-Pak relation is directly related to the trial of the Mumbai terror attack masterminds.

“In respect of the restarting the frozen dialogue process, the key next step is the successful prosecution of the people who are involved in the Mumbai attacks,” The Nation quoted Miliband, as saying.

Miliband said the Mumbai issue is very critical for confidence building between India and Pakistan.

He asked Islamabad to speed-up its probe on the issue, and said that the perpetrators should be duly punished.

“It is important that the Pakistan government moves faster and punishes the culprits if they are found guilty within the Pakistani legal system,” Milibad said.

Commenting on the Kashmir issue, Miliband said that the long pending dispute needed to be resolved with mutual consent.

“The dialogue needs to be held in light of aspirations of Kashmiris and it is needed to resolve the problem with mutual discussion,” he said.

Miliband, who arrived in Multan on a one-day visit on Wednesday, said Britain would continue its support to Pakistan, and added that it will help Islamabad to improve its relationship with the European Union.

Referring to the EU summit held last month, Miliband said: “The historic summit two weeks ago was very important. The whole of the 27 European Union countries and 500 million people are now increasingly focused on Pakistan.”

He rejected reports about British arms falling into the Taliban’s hands, but admitted the fact that there is a general global problem regarding the spread of illegal arms. (ANI)

UK hate preacher converts 11-year-old Christian boy to Islam

London, June 29 (ANI): Britain’s controversial Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary has converted an 11-year-old Christian schoolboy to Islam at a road show.

A film shows Sean, 11, vowing to follow the religion by repeating words in Arabic.

Sean, whose face is obscured by a coat hood and has been blacked out, is coached through the ceremony by hate preacher Choudary.

Standing next to him, he says: “This young man here wants to become a Muslim. This is not the first time a young man has discovered the truth. Come forward to think about Islam.”

Choudary, a follower of exiled hate-preacher Omar Bakri Mohammed, recites words for him to repeat.

The ceremony was filmed at a demonstration by Choudary’s Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama’ah group in Birmingham city centre earlier this month.

Choudary defended the boy’s “reversion” to Islam.

“The boy told us he wanted to become a Muslim and, of course, some ­people are intellectually more mature than they are physically. I don’t see there is any harm in this,” he said.

Choudary, 42, was one of the masterminds behind sick protests at the homecoming parade of British soldiers from Afghanistan in Luton back in March.

He branded British troops “murderers.”

The preacher also calls for fundamentalist Sharia law in Britain and warns of the dangers of eternal “hellfire” for non-Muslims. (ANI)

7 Iraq Al-Qaeda masterminds have entered Pak : Pak intelligence

Lahore, May 21 (ANI): Seven highly trained Iraqi Al-Qaeda masterminds have entered Pakistan, the country’s intelligence agencies have revealed here.

According to sources, the government has directed law-enforcement agencies to take immediate action against the militants to nab them.

The militants are planning to train ‘like-minded people’ and target top government officials, including President Asif Ali Zardari, the chief ministers of the four provinces and intelligence agencies’ officers and commanders, BBC Urdu reports.

Embassies of non-Muslim and pro-US Muslim countries situated in Islamabad could also be targeted by Al-Qaeda.

The intelligence reports further added that Al Qaeda commanders had met in Afghanistan earlier this month and decided to continue supporting the Taliban in Pakistan. (ANI)

India tells Pakistan not to adopt delaying tactics

New Delhi, Apr 14 (ANI): A day after Pakistan demanded more proof on the Mumbai terror attacks, India responded by saying Pakistan must demonstrate sincerity by taking tangible action in the case.

Speaking to the media here on Tuesday, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said India had supplied enough evidence to Pakistan regarding the investigations of the 26/11 terror attacks.

“The evidence which we have given to Pakistan is adequate. We have given proofs, first the dossier, then the response to the Pakistan questionnaire. Pakistan must demonstrate the sincerity of its intent by taking tangible action,” sharma said.

“It is in the interest of Pakistan that the infrastructure of the terrorist outfit is dismantled and the masterminds, the perpetrators are brought to justice. Delaying on pure technicalities is not going to improve things particularly when we are talking of peace and stability in the entire region,” Sharma added.

Pakistan has acknowledged that the November attacks in Mumbai, in which 166 people were killed, were partly planned and launched from its territory. That had helped ease tension.

New Delhi said state agencies in Pakistan were involved in the attacks and provided a dossier of what it said was evidence which pointed to Pakistan-based militants being behind the attacks.

Islamabad denied this and raised 30 questions in response to the dossier asking for more evidence.

Last month, India replied to the 30 questions raised by Pakistan and said it was time for Islamabad to act quickly in the investigation. (ANI)

In camera trial of Lakhvi, Zarar Shah begins at Pakistan’s Adiala jail

Rawalpindi, Mar 4 (ANI): The in-camera trial of the Mumbai attacks’ masterminds and perpetrators arrested by Pakistan has started at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

Anti Terrorism Court-II (ATC-II) on Tuesday started the trial. Judge Sakhi Muhammad Kahoot is trying Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, a resident of Islamabad, Abdul Wajid alias Zarar Shah of Sheikhupura, Mazhar Iqbal alias Abu Al-Qama of Islamabad and Hammad Amin of Rahimyar Khan for aiding and abetting the Mumbai attacks.

Earlier, the court had remanded Hammad Amin in the custody of FIA for 15 days and the other three accused for 12 days, the Daily Times reported.

Representing the prosecution, Inspector Zahid Akhtar of FIA and Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Chaudhry Zulfiqar, sought an extension in the physical remand of the accused for further grilling.

The court extended the physical remand.

The same court also recorded the statements of prosecution witnesses in two separate high-profile terrorism cases and adjourned hearing till March 17.

Judge Sakhi Muhammad Kahoot is trying Maulvi Imtiaz and Muhammad Usman for their alleged involvement in an attempt to assassinate former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in a suicide bombing in Jaffar Village, Fateh Jang, on July 30, 2004 when he was about to board a car after addressing an election rally.

Separately in another terrorism case involving 12 suspects, the same court recorded the statement of a prosecution witness and adjourned hearing till March 17. (ANI)

Pakistan denies use of its territory in Mumbai attack

London, Jan.30 (ANI): Pakistan’s flip-flop of comments on the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks continues, with Pakistan High Commissioner in Britain Wajid Shamsul Hassan saying that Pakistani soil was not used in masterminding the Mumbai carnage.

According to The News, in what seems to be the first ever ‘official’ comment over its probe into the attacks, based on the dossier provided by India, Hasssan said the initial findings of the Pakistani investigators indicate that Mumbai attacks were planned outside its territory.

“Pakistani territory was not used so far as the investigators have made their conclusions. It could have been some other place,” the paper quoted Hassan, as saying.

“They (investigators) categorically informed me that UK was not involved. Pak was not involved. Its territories were not used for planning this operation,” he added.

Earlier, Pakistan had claimed that the probe into the attack is in the final stage,and it would be soon sharing the details with India.

But it neither provided India with the probe report, or with any leads even after the expiry of the Indian ultimatum to bring the Mumbai masterminds to book. (ANI)

Bangladesh to investigate past terrorist attacks

Dhaka – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed has ordered new investigations into past terrorist attacks to expose the national and international links, media reports said Tuesday.

The new premier called for an anti-terrorism task force in South Asia and asked her deputies to seek regional and international cooperation.

“It’s not possible to curb terrorism alone. United efforts are needed to tackle the problem,” Hasina was quoted to have said by her Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad.

Bangladesh witnessed a wave of terrorist attacks during the 2001-06 regime of former premier Khaleda Zia’s right-wing coalition government. But most of the cases remained unresolved.

A Hasina rally was bombed in August 2004 in the capital Dhaka killing at least 24 people, including her Awami League party’s central leaders. She herself narrowly escaped the attack.

Bomb and grenade attacks also killed former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria, and severely wounded former British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Anwar Chowdhury, while a string of suicide attacks in several districts killed judges, lawyers and cops.

Terrorists demonstrated their reach with synchronized bomb blasts at the headquarters of 63 out of 64 administrative districts in August 2005.

The outlawed Islamist terrorist organization Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh was held responsible for almost all the attacks.

Critics alleged that the BNP-led government manipulated the investigation to save some of the masterminds, attackers, and their patrons. (dpa)