India may soon share 26/11 evidence with US

India may soon share evidence it collected during the trial of Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab for the Mumbai terror attacks on November 26, 2008, with the US. This sharing of evidence is expected to aid the US in its efforts to try Mumbai attack accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana in a Chicago court.

The trial starts on May 16 when federal prosecutors will also seek the indictment of five Pakistan-based persons, including a serving officer of the Pakistan Army, for their role in the crime. Most of these five persons are also wanted in India.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam in the 26/11 case, said: “There is a clear understanding between US and India to share case details, under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, of the terror attack case... We want justice to be done in the 26/11-related cases going on in different countries like the US. We are ready to extend our cooperation.”

In a US embassy cable accessed by the Hindu in March through WikiLeaks, US officials complained to the US state department that India was not sharing a crucial piece of evidence with them. “The two pink boxes found in Pakistan and India are a strong link that proves the conspiracy behind the attacks originated in Pakistan.

The FBI still requires samples from the foam and glue that make up the box found in India. The GOI has not been forthcoming with this evidence,” the cable said. Nikam said that non-cooperation was because of legal issues since the evidence was needed in India as Kasab’s trail was still going on.   

“Until now, we needed the evidence as the trial was on going in Mumbai. But with the court’s permission we surely can send the evidence to the US government to nail the accused in the Chicago court,” he said.

Besides the pink foam, the evidence that the US will find helpful includes the confessional statement of convicted terrorist Ajmal Kasab, intercepted conversations between the deceased terrorists and arms and ammunition which were seized from the terrorists that can directly link the Pakistan army in the attack since they were found to be procured from a Pakistani ordinance factory in Wah city of Pakistan’s Punjab province.

Sources in the Mumbai Police Crime branch said: “The evidence clearly shows the direct and indirect involvement of high ranking officials of the hostile neighboring country who were involved before, during and after the carnage.”

In his confessional statement given to a magistrate, Kasab mentioned names of Abu Qahafa, Mazhar Iqbal alias Abu Alqama and one Major who visited their training camp. The Bombay High Court accepted the confessional statement while upholding Kasab’s death penalty. “LeT operatives trained us under the supervision of army officials, of which one was a major general of the Pakistan Army,” the confession reads.

The US government, in its second chargesheet in the Rana case, named ISI officer Major Iqbal as a key conspirator for the 26/11 attacks in which six Americans were among the 166 killed. It is yet to be established whether Major Iqbal and the major that Kasab referred to is the same person.

Kasab’s confession also names other Pakistani accused who are wanted in India. They include Abu Alkama, Abu Hamza, Abu Kafa and Abu Jhundal and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, (arrested in Pakistan), all of whom saw the terrorists off on their mission from the shores of Karachi.

The transcripts of the voice calls between the terrorists and their handlers also make references to the entire operation being monitored by senior Pakistan army officials.