Pakistan, reeling under tremendous international pressure to act against the Mumbai mayhem perpetrators, has got another blow on Wednesday when top Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Zarar Shah, captured earlier this month during Pak crackdown on terrorist camps, reportedly confessed the group’s involvement in terror strikes on Mumbai.
Shah told investigators that a group that struck Mumbai on Nov 26 were trained in Karachi and were constantly in touch with him.
This confession gives credence to the US tape theory that claims a phone call took place between Shah and one of the assailants attacked the Taj Mahal hotel in which the LeT commander spoke and instructed to the group during the rampage. The conversation between Shah and the Mumbai attackers was also testified by another person before the investigators.
In a sharp contradiction to the Pakistani government who not only has refused to admit Azmal Kasab, the only gunman captured alive by the Indian security forces, as a Pakistani national but raised the doubt over the authenticity of the letter written by him, the LeT commander has confirmed the Kasab’s story that the ten Pakistan trained perpetrators reached India via sea route from Karachi.
Both Shah and Zakiaur Rehman Lakhvi, another mastermind, were arrested earlier this month for their alleged involvement in the Mumbai terror attack.
Pressure building on Pakistan to act against perpetrators is also backed by a report published in today’s edition of Dawn newspaper in which it is reported that the America has asked Pakistan to extradite LeT operations commander Lakhvi.
The newspaper quoting US and diplomatic sources reports that America has given Pakistan a taped conversation Lakhvi allegedly had with gunmen involved in Mumbai carnage. The voice of Lakhvi in the tape has been declared genuine after thorough examining by audio experts.
Indian officials have been saying for some time that Lakhvi should be handed over to India but Pakistan has not responded positively as of now, and also US officials had not taken a clear stand on this issue till now. It is now reportedly being said that US urging Pakistan to handover Lakhvi to New Delhi.
Lakhvi was detained along with over 20 other LeT and Jamaat-ud-Dawa activists during a crackdown by Pakistani security forces near Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan occupied Kashmir on December 7.
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