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| '26/11 Planning Den Traced Near Karachi' | | Lakhvi, others suspects remanded to FBI custody | |
Islamabad, Feb 15: The house where the Mumbai terror attackers and its planners camped before and after launching their deadly operation has been unearthed in Pakistan's Sindh province, a media report has stated.
A large map of the world with Mumbai and the sea route to it marked out prominently, and newspapers, including those carrying stories about the November 26 Mumbai carnage were found at the house, now sealed by investigators, Geo TV said.
The TV footage of the unkept house, that is believed to have been used by the terrorists including Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving gunman, showed among other things a picture of a speed boat, equipment used in fishing vessels and a large amount of medicines.
The channel captured images of mattresses and blankets strewn around, in what it said were traces of a once well-furnished living quarter located in Dori, 40 kilometres from Karachi, from where the terrorists sailed for Mumbai. Islamic literature was also found stacked, it said.
The caretaker of the now-deserted house told the channel that he was asked to stay away from the place. Geo also quoted local residents as saying that they saw seven people residing in the house and using a motor launch.
After months of denial, earlier this week Pakistan finally admitted that part of the conspiracy for the Mumbai terror attacks was hatched inside the country and said some of the suspects were in its custody.
Meanwhile, at least six suspects detained by Pakistan in connection with the Mumbai attacks, including LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, have reportedly been remanded to the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for interrogation for two weeks.
Anti-terror court judge Sakhi Mohammed Kahut remanded the suspects to the custody of the FIA for 14 days after they were produced before him at an undisclosed location yesterday, media reports said. The suspects were booked for planning, financing and abetting the attacks.
Lakhvi, LeT communications expert Zarar Shah and Hamad Amin Sadiq, described by Pakistani officials as the "main operator" behind the Mumbai incident, are among the suspects handed over to the FIA.
However, there was confusion over the number of suspects remanded to the FIA's custody. Geo News channel said six suspects were handed over to the investigating agency while Dawn News channel reported FIA was granted "physical remand" for eight suspects. While announcing filing of formal charges against nine suspects on Thursday, Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said Pakistani authorities had detained six of the accused. Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist captured alive during the Mumbai attacks, was also named among the suspects. Malik said two more suspects had been identified but were still at large.
Western diplomatic sources told a news agency that Lakhvi, Shah and Sadiq were among the suspects being held by Pakistani security agencies. They had earlier been questioned by the ISI before being handed over to the security agencies, the sources said.
Lakhvi and Shah were held during raids by the Pakistan Army on LeT facilities near Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, in early December.
It is believed that the government has decided to try the accused in a special anti-terrorism court and the proceedings are expected to be held in-camera. Reports suggested the trial could be held at the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
This decision is believed to have been influenced by the close links that existed earlier between the LeT and the Pakistani security establishment. Any disclosures about such links by the detained LeT suspects in an open court could prove embarrassing for the establishment, observers said.
Yesterday, Pakistani authorities kept the media guessing about whereabouts of the suspects. A large number of reporters waited in vain for almost the whole day at an anti- terrorism court where the suspects were expected to be produced.
Shahbaz Ahmed Rajput, an advocate who said he had been hired by families of the suspects, too made an appearance at the court and claimed the accused were in "illegal detention".
He also claimed some of the suspects had been detained in November without any formal charges being filed against them.
He said he did not favour holding of an in-camera trial. "The entire world is interested in this case and it is also a matter of the court's credibility."
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