Jundal bares ISI hand in 26/11

TOI

NEW DELHI: 7 July 2012: Key 26/11 conspirator Syed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal has reportedly claimed that Major Saleem Ali of Pakistan’s ISI came to the Beit-ul-Mujahideen camp in Muzzafarabad a few days before the Mumbai attacks and handed over two cartons of cartridges for AK series weapons. Sources said the same cartridges were used by the 10 terrorists including Ajmal Kasab in the Mumbai carnage.

 

Giving more details of Sameer Ali’s role, Jundal told his interrogators that he had also arranged the logistics for the ’marine training’ of the 10 terrorists at Karachi harbour. Apart from Sameer Ali, another ISI officer Hamza has been reportedly named by Jundal, which clearly proves the role of state actors in the 26/11 attack. Jundal’s version corroborates David Coleman Headley’s statement naming one Major Sameer Ali during his interrogation.

 

About Hamza, who is said to be a colonel rank officer, sources said he helped Jundal with finance and shelter and also arranged his visit to Saudi Arabia.

 

The revelations are seen as yet another proof of the involvement of Pakistani state agencies in the 26/11 attacks. They also fly in the face of visiting Pakistani foreign secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani’s denial of any role of state agencies in the plotting and execution of Mumbai attacks.

 

About Sameer Ali, sources claimed he had visited the control room -- located in the Malir Cantonment area -- during the 26/11 attacks and gave instructions to LeT commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi on how to go about the operation.

 

After the 26/11 attack ended on November 28, 2008, all those in the control room were asked to disperse. Jundal went back to Beit-ul-Mujahideen, where Lakhvi lived with his three wives. Under pressure over the 26/11 strikes, Pakistan’s FIA raided the control room and destroyed it weeks after the attacks. Months later, it raided the camp and picked up Lakhvi. Jundal, however, managed to escape.

 

Meanwhile, Delhi Police is planning to send a Letter Rogatory (LR) to Saudi Arabia seeking more details about Jundal’s stay, his job and about computers used by him. Delhi Police has already got a lot of information including email IDs, four SIM cards of Pakistan and SMS details from Saudi Arabia through diplomatic channels but sources said they needed more information.