We got training in Pak, PoK: Kasab

“There were 24 of us who took one-year training in camps organised by Laskar-e-Toiba (LeT) at Mansehra and Muzzarafabad. Ten of us were later handpicked for the Mumbai operation,’’ said Ajmal Amir Kasab during interrogations. According to sources, Kasab, 21, the only terrorist arrested by the Mumbai police, told his interrogators that Abdul Rahman, an ex-soldier popularly called Chacha, had given them training. Mansehra is in North-West Frontier Province and Muzzafarabad in PoK. The sources said Kasab explained that the training was divided into seven phases. “He said the first phase was of ‘very hard physical training’ of three months which included running 10 to 15 km. The next three months were for marine training like swimming, surfing, diving and boating in high seas. The rest included arms and ammunition training,’’ said a source. After the training was over, they were sent to Mumbai for a”short internship’’, Kasab is believed to have told the cops. This was the period when the accused did the reccee of the city and even went to the five star hotels (Taj and Oberoi), the sources said. Sources said the Mumbai operation plot was planned in Karachi some six months ago. Joint commissioner of police (crime) Rakesh Maria said,``We are closely working with the all the central agencies who have earlier handled such situations.’’In a fresh development in the investigations, the Mumbai police called up their Gujarat counterparts to enquire about whether the terrorists used Amar Narayan, the skipper of the fishing trawler used by them, as a mole. Narayan was detained by Pakistan for three months for illegally entering into the Pak waters.Police are now taking the help of top technical experts to break into the details of the GPS system and the sattelite phone which they recovered from a terrorist at the Taj hotel. This GPS helped them to navigate the sea route from Karachi to Mumbai via Porbander, cops said. The police have launched a manhunt for the few locals who have given the terrorists logistic support in the operation. LeT members learnt Hindi before attacks Lashker-e-Taiba, which carried out the most audacious terror strikes in Mumbai, has for the first time used Hindi words while conveying their threat message through media houses. Interestingly, the mail, sent in the name of Deccan Mujahideen, was generated from an email account created in Russia but was used by a computer based in Pakistan, officers investigating the pieces of the November 26 attack said. The author of the mail had used voice recognition software to dictate the mail which would type it in Devnagri font. Officials handling counter-insurgency operations in the country said that militants had not only for the first time used Hindi language but also made the mail jump from one server to another. Experts say that the e-mail, claiming responsibility for Wednesday’s terror attacks, was first generated on a computer located in Pakistan. Analysing the internet protocol addresses used to send the mail, the experts found that the Russia based e-mail address used to send the document was opened early on November 26 was opened by a computer user in Pakistan.

Ahmedabad's BRTS snippets

In a move to go hi-tech, Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL), the governing body for BRTS services in the city, will have BRTS fleet management systems. For this, AJL is planning to issue work for the installation by December 8 and has called for tenders from operators who can install softwares and hardwares for the system. Installation will consist of automated fare collection system, GPS-based fleet monitoring system, vehicle scheduling and dispatch system, passenger information system and financial management systems. Besides this, AJL also plans to introduce real-time passenger information system. This will include a special mobile information service that would give updates on buses and the probable time they will reach a particular bus station. Apart from this, radio frequency identification (RFID) fare smart cards, called Mi-Fare cards, will be given to regular commuters on a paltry fee. However, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) officials are sceptical about issuing MiFare cards since they can be hacked. Quoting news and research papers from other countries which said that MiFare cards could be cloned, operators posted queries on AMC’s website. However, AMC does not have another alternative and has instead asked operator their suggestions. The BRTS fleet management system will function from a control room. The busmounted GPS system will provide onboard passenger count and the distance of their travel individually. A special website too is being made for online updates on BRTS timings. It will be directly connected to the fleet management systems of BRTS control room.The location of BRTS control room is yet to be decided. AMTS committee chairman Praveen Patel said that since GPS systems are being installed in AMTS buses, the control rooms for AMTS and BRTS should be integrated. “We haven’t come to a conclusion on the issue since AMTS buses will be feeders for the BRTS network. We are planning to provide space for control rooms at Victoria garden,” Patel said.

Pakistan's reaction

Pakistan condemned the assault as a “barbaric act of terrorism” and denied any involvement by state agencies. It has vowed to cooperate in fighting terrorism but backtracked on a decision to send the chief of its spy agency to India to help with the investigation, in a move likely to revive questions about who runs the shadowy organisation. Pakistan had promised all help to India. “Terrorism is a menace to humanity and it must be eliminated,” the foreign ministry said. Pakistan has also said it would move troops from its western border with Afghanistan to the Indian border if tension escalated. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since gaining independence in 1947 and went to the brink of a fourth after a 2001 militant attack on the Indian parliament that New Delhi also blamed on Pakistan. Pakistanis protest against India’s claims that PoK-based militants were responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks, in Lahore on Sunday.

Pakistan’s bloggers are going the extra mile to show solidarity with Mumbaikars even though they have had to face the music from some of their countrymen. “And so, in prayer and in solidarity, I stand today with Mumbaikars everywhere. In shock at what has happened. In fear of what might happen yet. In anger at those who would be so calculated in their inhuman massacre,” wrote Adil Najam, who once visited the Taj and Oberoi hotels in a bid to spot Bollywood bigwigs, who blogs at All Things Pakistan. “In sympathy with those whose pain so hurts my own heart but whose tears I cannot touch, whose wounds I cannot heal, and whose grief I cannot relieve.” Nearly 200 people were killed and hundreds injured in a string of coordinated terrorist attacks in Mumbai. India has linked Pakistan-based elements to the attacks, a charge denied by Islamabad. Another avid blogger wrote an “Ode to Bombay” on the popular e- zine “Pak Tea House”. “Once again they have attacked, at the heart of Bombay. Bombay is everything which they hate. Bombay is Freedom, Bombay is Life, Bombay is Music, Bombay is Light. This is the attack on (the) city of Lights,” Ali Shahryar wrote. “They will fail to destroy India, they will fail to destroy the thousands of years-old tradition of culture of tolerance and wisdom. Bombay lives, united and whole, full of lights and music, it will once again be. Prophets of darkness can never defeat Light. Because Light is eternal,” he wrote. Following Najam’s post, a blogger known as BrassTacks wondered if Najam was an Indian agent. “Why did you never write about the blasts in Islamabad and Lahore? Why only worry about India? I think this is an Indian agent’s website,” BrassTacks comment read.But some bloggers have admitted that Pakistanis were not as “innocent” as they were being made out to be. “I am also a Pakistani but frankly I am not too sure of (the) innocence of our people,” wrote Bunty.

The Fallout

In the wake of the Mumbai attacks which left the Centre red-faced for its inaction on several long-pending proposals, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the government had decided to set up a federal investigation agency (FIA), strengthen air and maritime security and create four National Security Guard (NSG) hubs in various parts of the country. At an all-party meeting on terror, Singh said several measures were already in place to deal with the situation. “But much more needs to be done and we are determined to take all necessary measures to overhaul the system,” he said. “We have finalised a set of legal measures based on the recommendations of the Administrative Reforms Commission that includes the setting up of an FIA,” Singh said. He said the government would further strengthen maritime and air security for which measures had been initiated. This will involve the navy, coast guard and coastal police, as well as the IAF and the civil aviation ministry. “The antiterrorist forces will be strengthened and streamlined. The NSG will be given additional facilities and its size will be augmented,” he said. Steps have also been initiated to establish four NSG hubs in different parts of the country. Special forces at the Centre’s disposal would be used in counter-insurgency operations. Although the decentralisation of the NSG has been an old demand, the long time commandos took to reach Mumbai from Manesar led to calls to set up the force’s units in other parts of the country. Home ministry officials have already discussed a proposal to set up such hubs in Kolkata and Hyderabad.Endorsing the PM’s stand, all participants, save the Left, backed the idea of a federal agency. The Left only gave a conditional OK saying the Centre must consult states. The agency is likely to help better coordination, getting around the gaps that the multiplicity of jurisdictions cause. However, there was no consensus on the return of Pota, but the overall mood seemed to be more favourable to a special antiterror law (mild form of Pota) than before. BJP leader L K Advani and party chief Rajnath Singh skipped the meeting as they were campaigning for the assembly polls in Rajasthan.

Terror strike an attack on sovereignty

The Urdu press has likened the terror strike to an attack on India’s sovereignty. Through analytical pieces and editorials in the last few days, the Urdu dailies have told its readers to reiterate the resolve to protect India’s integrity and its celebrated pluralism. Urdu commentators have also reminded Muslims of their duty to join the war against terrorism. In its editorial titled “Dahshatgardi ke khilaf ekjahti (unity against terrorism)”, Mumbai’s leading Urdu daily The Inquilab (November 28) called upon all Indians, especially political parties, to rise above ideological and political differences “in this moment of grief and join hands to defeat terrorism”. “Unless we are united, the evil forces of terrorism cannot be defeated,’’ said the editorial. The paper also attacked some politicians who were “trying to win brownie points at a time when they should sink their differences and stop doing politics over the deaths of innocents”.Many Urdu commentators have used the opportunity to remind Muslims of their sacrifices in liberating India and their duty to protect its unity and integrity. In his piece titled “Musalmano ki bhi zimmedariyan hain’’ (Even Muslims have their responsibilities)” in the Urdu Times (November 28), Farooque Ansari said the country once again needed Muslims’ unflinching support in the fight against terrorism. “The country is facing an unprecedented challenge. Its commercial capital, Mumbai, is a constant target. Muslims must rise to the occasion and prove they are next to none when it comes to offer sacrifices for the country,’’ wrote Ansari. Another Urdu columnist, Zafar Agha, said though the terror attack in Mumbai had shaken every Indian, they also raised concerns of a backlash. “Nobody is more worried after the terror attacks in Mumbai than the Indian Muslims. Muslims’ fear that the communal forces may cash in on the situation for political gains is real,’’ Agha wrote in The Inquilab. The Urdu press has also criticised the “attempt to hit at the heart of India’s economy”. “Mumbai is the pillar of our economic strength. Mumbaikars have faced the turmoil before. They will tide over the latest crisis too,’’ hoped Rashtriya Sahara. Another condemnation came from physician-Urdu poet Dr Navroze Kotwal in a couplet: “Yun noch noch khana darinda sifat hai kaam/insaan ne kyon mita diya insaaniyat ka naam (The habit of eating bits by bits is a beastly act/Why did the humans erode the name of humanity).’’

Citizens set out their agenda

Thousands came out on Marine Drive on Sunday evening to light a candle, express solidarity with terror victims, and voice their anger against the perceived apathy of politicians. Most of them were youngsters, who sang and carried placards as they walked from Churchgate to the Oberoi. The clusters of candles all along the promenade seemed to light up the otherwise ominously dark stretch around the beleaguered hotel. The atmosphere was reminiscent of the anti-Vietnam protests that rocked the US in the ’70s. As vigil participant Gool Bhujwala, a retired teacher, put it, “We don’t want posters of politicians’ grinning faces all over the city any more.” Her son, Dodo, a dancer, added, “I feel angry. Angry with the system. Angry with myself...This is not the Bombay I knew, not the Bombay I love.” Minu Shah, a nursery school teacher who had taught two of the girls orphaned in the violence, said, “We have to move beyond lighting candles. The elite of Mumbai goes on vacation when it’s time to vote.” Indeed, what started out as a small peace initiative by two survivors of the attacks turned into a massive cathartic vigil. “We want to know who should be held accountable. It has more to do with the future we face,’’ said Aditi Kotak, who was dining at Vetro restaurant, Oberoi, when the firing started. “Some of us missed death by a whisker. But so many others were not lucky.” Posters and placards captured the anger. One read, “Dear CM, for once do something good. Become the PM of Pakistan.” Another mocked, “Phir bhi mera Bharat mahaan...” Yet another said, “Politicians, go to Leopold and try and have a chilled beer without security.” Some said they knew catering students who were trainees at the Taj. “We are here to pay tributes,” said 21-year-old Azeem Harianawala. Meanwhile, further north, Shivaji Park was once again choc-a-bloc with people on Sunday evening, the day after thousands had gathered there to bid farewell to the ATS chief Hemant Karkare. This time, it was with candles and banners to spread the message of peace and to sign a charter of demands to present to the chief minister. “We don’t want to bend to terrorists. We don’t even want to blame politicians at this time. We just want to focus on what can be done now so that similar cases can be avoided,’’ said Shivaji Park resident Swapnil Pawar. “In our charter, we have demanded that disaster management training be given to citizens. Also, it is the need of the hour to have special trained forces like the NSG, which are managed professionally and have an independent decision-making capacity,’’ he added.

‘No burial of Lashkar men in India’

The Muslim Council on Sunday decided not to allow the burial of the nine terrorists’ bodies in the Marine Lines Bada Qabrastan (cemetery). The council said it was trying to send a message to all cemeteries in India that none of the bodies should be given burial on Indian soil. The nine Pakistanis were killed in encounters with the police and National Security Guards. Bhai Jagtap, a Congress MLA from VP Road-JJ constituency said that some Muslim organisations had approached him demanding that the impious terrorists should not be buried in any cemetery in India. “Considering their sentiments, I am trying to get in touch with deputy chief minister R R Patil and other senior leaders. I will forward this message to the state government,’’ said Jagtap. The council has handed over a letter to the Marine Lines cemetery in this regard. In 2003, a Pakistani national killed in an encounter was buried in a cemetery. However, this time, it has been decided not to allow the burial because of the gravity of the terror attack. However, other Muslims organisations are yet to decide on it.