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Ajmal Kasab, the lone Lashkar-e-Taiba operative captured after the Mumbai assault, outside of the train station. |
Mohawat Hussain Rana, one of two US-based terror suspects involved in plots to attack a Danish newspaper as well as targets in India, has two brothers serving in senior positions in the Pakistani Army. Rediff News reported that Rana instructed David Headley, his co-conspirator, to get in touch with his brothers:
Sources in both the IB [the Intelligence Bureau, India’s equivalent of the FBI] and investigating agencies told rediff.com say they managed to track down Headley’s Pakistan army link through the transcripts of his email. Headley interacted with his bosses in Pakistan through the ID [email protected].
Investigating agencies say Headley used another email ID to interact with Rana. In his reply, Rana told Headley to get in touch with two of his brothers, identified as Brigadier Mohawat Rana and [Brigadier] Sibte Hassan Rana Monie from Rawalpindi.
There are reports that one or both of the two unnamed Pakistani conspirators who worked with Rana and Headley are Pakistani military officers. My sources said that Rana’s brothers are not the unnamed suspects.
Headley is suspected of scouting Mumbai for the Lashkar-e-Taiba prior to the deadly 62-hour terror assault on the city that left more than 170 dead. Headley spent 10 days at the Taj Hotel, which was one of the primary targets of the Lashkar-e-Taiba operation in Mumbai.
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8 Comments
The skeletons have started to tumble out … first it was ‘non-state’ actors (ISI / Pak army regulars on sabaticle to LeT) … now it is getting clear just how deep the Pak Military establishment’s involvement is in spreading terrorism across globe … reminds me of the joke that we use to hear in post 9/11 times:
Bush receives a call from Musharraf @ 8 AM on 9/11 …Ohh . what large scale destruction and loss of human life … my sympathies to you and your countrymen Mr. Bush, says Musharraf. Bush is taken back … Mushiee .. what are you taking about ?? You still seem to be under influence of yesterday night’s Black Label … Musharraf asks – What time is it out there ? Bush says it is 8 in the morning ..Musharraf says .. Sorry will call you back in an hours time …
It is very common for the Pakistan Amry and ISI to be involved in terrorims.
The Iranians are also blaming the ISI for attacks which killed Iranian Revolutionary Guards Commarders in Pishin, last month.
As usual the Pakistan Army will come and deny these and brush this under the carpet.
They are running with the hares(terrorists-jihadis) and hunting with the hounds(American) milking the Americans of money and military technology and equipment.
Your current title seems prejudicial. Surely a more balanced title would have been “India alleges Pakistani generals’ link to…”
I find it highly unlikely that the military itself would have been involved in this. Pakistan has no interest in a conventional loss to India, and neither country has an interest in a nuclear conflict.
Pakistan is certainly responsible for not moving to dismantle LeT (and that is consistent with the misguided and vile low-level conflict we sustain with India), but I can’t imagine direct involvement by the Army.
Ultimately, we need much better evidence than an Indian saying so. Greater details about Rana is the bare minimum.
This may be revelation for the rest of the world. For us in India, we have known it all along. That the thin line dividing the Pakistan ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) and the Lashkar e Tayyaba is at best membrane thin and at worst actually overlapping.
If the West still refuses to wake up to the reality that Pakistan is a terrorist state yet another 9/11 hatched on Pakistani soil and executed on US soil may not be too far away.
Ali,
The involvement of Rana’s two Brigadier brothers are not from Indian media.
They are in the FBI indictment affidavit itself.
Ali you guys can spend your life looking for evidence (which sits in Kayani’s and the ISI’s drawers) while your country crumbles around you.
As for the title, wonder if you’ve read Bill’s penultimate blog “LeT is a member of AQ”. And we know that the Taliban is a senior member/partner of AQ. We also know that ISI is a partner of the Taliban. So the real story here is that AQ/Taliban/LeT are partners of the Pak Army. Perhaps the title of that one should read “LeT is a member of the Pak Army.”
Now that may appear to you pre-judicial too, but Bill has quite rightly called him the Teflon Whatever (i don’t recall precisely), lets just say Teflon Hood. Fact is you know and i know and everybody else around here knows that this terrorist will never be brought to book. (Although life is long and it won’t surprise me if post-imploded Pakistan that he will be brought to The Hague. No harm in a little wishful thinking.)
On the larger point of the Taliban, particularly your so-sweetly called good Taliban are DE FACTO part of the Pak Army.
If you haven’t already read Ravi Rikhye’s blog of Nov 13, i would recommend it to you. its a click away at
http://www.orbat.com/
Despite the fact that this is an indian saying so, many readers here consider him to be credible and incisive. Nobody here owns the last word which should really be the responsibility of the Pakistani judiciary–but i doubt that even you would want to argue against how pitiable that is. And about Paks ability to investigate its own matters and bring it to a logical, fair judicial conclusion, the less said the better.
On the issue of Pak generals links with Taliban operatives, perhaps you will tell us, factually or even from your rumor-mill, who were the Generals that Gen Alvi was referring to in his letter to Kayani, before he was mercilessly and prejudicially murdered. What is the judicial status on that hit, and his assertions? And he wasn’t even an indian Gen, one of your own elite like you, but he didn’t have a chance, did he? And he sensed it.
While we are discussing on terror and Pakistan, Bill could you also throw light on two events of this week that have direct link with Pakistan – The first where Spanish auth have started prosecution against 7 Pakis (and unfortunately 2 Muslims of Indian origin). the second one being Major Nidal having Pak links (he has xferred some money to Pak)
The good Taliban and bad Taliban we know.
Enter the good Pak army and the bad Pak army.
So while the good Pak army fights the bad Taliban in Bad Waziristan, the bad Pak army sits around a campfire with the good Taliban in Good Waziristan (probably drinking a really bad whisky).
The bad ol’ Prez sits in good ol’ London hoping that the bad ol’ judges won’t deal out some good justice. While the present good Prez trots around the globe trying to make good Friends for his country in really bad shape so that he can pick their good pockets for some good ol’ silver that will probably find its way thru a bad laundry to bad banks in good switzerland.
The bad ol’Prez has some really bad words for the bad-turned-good Prez who nevertheless is not considered to be a totally bad guy by its good ally the US but judged as bad by his own both good and bad people.
Now the good general knows exactly who are the bad generals but he doesn’t want to make a bad situation worse not that he has a good chance of making it better.
Back in the cave the bad muslims kill the good muslims for listening to their hi-fidelity music, a good sign of a bad case of infidelity.
Grow up Pakistan or wind-down! What a laughing stock you have become and a very bad joke!!