Ten Pakistani terrorists sneaked into Mumbai from the sea in November 2008 and massacred 166 Indians and foreigners in an attack that brought both the countries on the verge of war. One of the radicals, Ajmal Kasab was caught and later hanged in India. Islamabad denied any links with the attackers but later reluctantly admitted that the entire terror group was from Pakistan. Khosa pointed out that Kasab was a Pakistani and that the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists who attacked Mumbai were trained near Thatta in Sindh and launched by sea from there.
“The training camp was identified and secured by the investigators. The casings of the explosive devices used in Mumbai were recovered from this training camp and duly matched.”
“Third, the fishing trawler used by the terrorists for hijacking an Indian trawler in which they sailed to Mumbai was brought back to harbour, then painted and concealed. It was recovered by the investigators and connected to the accused.”
“Fourth, the engine of the dinghy abandoned by the terrorists near Mumbai harbour contained a patent number through which the investigators traced its import from Japan to Lahore and then to a Karachi sports shop from where an LeT-linked militant purchased it along with the dinghy. The money trail was followed and linked to the accused who was arrested.”
“Fifth, the ops room in Karachi, from where the operation was directed, was also identified and secured by the investigators. The communications through Voice over Internet Protocol were unearthed.”
“Sixth, the alleged commander and his deputies were identified and arrested. Seventh, a couple of foreign-based financiers and facilitators were arrested and brought to face trial,” Khosa said.
Seemingly fed up with the up downs between both the neighbouring countries regarding the issue, Khosa said, the Mumbai case was unique, and proving conspiracy in a different jurisdiction was more complex and required a far superior quality of evidence. “Therefore, the legal experts from both sides need to sit together rather than sulk and point fingers.”
