Is the news from DAWN true? Pakistani authorities have filed a case against Ajmal Amir Kasab and 12 others in connection with the terror strikes in Mumbai.
Larger Pakistani Role in Mumbai Attacks
Salman Masood
At least 5 of the 10 gunmen who attacked targets in Mumbai, India, nearly three months ago were of Pakistani origin, according to a government report that has been leaked to local television networks.
It would be the first acknowledgment by Pakistan that more than one of its own citizens had participated in the assault. The country has confirmed that the lone surviving gunman, in Indian custody, is a Pakistani.
But officials here have rejected India’s assertions that the assault was conceived and planned inside Pakistan. According to the television networks, the government report says that investigators have concluded that the attacks were planned in a European country and Dubai over the Internet, and that the planners used Bangladesh for logistical support.
It was unclear from the leaks how the investigators had come to their conclusions.
The preliminary findings of the investigation had been expected to be made public this week. But on Monday the government issued a statement saying investigators needed more evidence from India to proceed with the investigation.
The request for more information provoked an angry reaction on Tuesday from India, which said it had already shared exhaustive evidence of Pakistani complicity. India’s junior foreign minister, Anand Sharma, called the Pakistani request a stalling tactic. “What is required of Pakistan is that it should not delay, deflect or confuse, but act,” Mr. Sharma said, according to Agence France-Presse.
The Pakistani government did not specify what additional information investigators wanted from India. But Dawn, Pakistan’s most prestigious newspaper, reported Tuesday that Pakistani officials would seek a DNA report on Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman involved in the attacks, and the other nine, who were killed by the Indian security forces.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/world/asia/11mumbai.html
Pakistan is also seeking information about the weapons used by the gunmen as well as details of the cellphone calls made by them, Dawn said.
In addition, Pakistan will push for access to the Indians who have been arrested in connection with the attacks, the newspaper said.
Tension between the countries has intensified since the November attacks in Mumbai, formerly Bombay, which killed more than 160 people. Indian and American officials have accused Lashkar-e-Taiba, an outlawed militant group that has vowed to free the disputed Kashmir region from Indian control, of being responsible for the attacks.
Pakistan has promised to cooperate fully in the investigation of the attacks. Under immense international diplomatic pressure, Pakistan put Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the leader of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the charity affiliated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba, under house arrest and detained at least 124 people in a nationwide crackdown. Offices and schools associated with the charity have been closed.
