Pakistani Ajmal Kasab was arrested from Nepal and brought to India

RAWALPINDI: Indian journalist Prem Shankar Jha has said that Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru should not have been given death sentences. The one who provided cellular phone to Ajmal Kasab and his comrades was our informer, who was included in Lashkar-e-Taiba. Pakistani investigation officers should have been given access to Ajmal Kasab.

Shahid Latif quoted former Indian police officer’s book saying Ajmal Kasab was arrested from Nepal and was brought to India.

These views were expressed in Geo News’ programme ‘Capital Talk’ hosted by Hamid Mir. The programme revolved around a discussion on Mumbai attacks. In the debate, former Federal Law Minister Ahmer Bilal Sufi, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, Advocate Rizwan Abbasi and defence analyst Shahid Latif participated.

Ahmer Bilal Sufi said according to Prem Shankar Jha, the provider of information and equipment to Ajmal Kasab was an Indian informer. Mr. Sufi added that if this was correct, its importance could not be ignored. The former law minister called for a separate probe to ascertain if the matter was part of a plan or not. It is very important to reach the depth of this matter, he added.

He further said that the dossier handed over by India to Pakistan regarding Mumbai Attacks is unacceptable. The information transferred by India has no significance from the viewpoint of prosecution. Hafiz Saeed was arrested owing to pressure from India, but when the resolution of Security Council was read, it denied the need for the arrest.

It contained conditions pertaining to freezing assets, display of arms, and ban on travelling and Pakistan is already acting upon these points. The murder of Hemant Karkare requires to be probed.

Indian journalist Prem Shankar Jha said that Pakistani investigation officers should have been given access to Ajmal Kasab. India has given the evidences to Pakistan in relation to the Mumbai Attacks. Both the countries are so much a victim to scepticism that their intelligence agencies block the relevant proofs. They sent a 13-page summary to Pakistan, while the complete report was handed over to the US and the UK. Cooperation cannot work in this manner.

He further said that Indian courts should not have given death sentence to Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru. Ajmal Kasab and his cronies were in contact with someone on phone. The one who provided him cellular phone belonged to Kashmir Police, and he was our informer. He was admitted into Lashkar-e-Taiba but we ousted them. His life has always been in danger, he mentioned.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the Punjab government detained Hafiz Saeed on directives from the former federal government. The federal government was of the view that a case would be registered against him on the basis of material given to Pakistan by India through the United Nations. He received extensions from the High Court 10 or 12 times for prolonging the detention of Hafiz Saeed but federal government did not give them any evidence. Due to absence of proofs, High Court declared the detention of Hafiz Saeed as illegal, after which he was released.

He said that India did not hand over any proof against Hafiz Saeed to Pakistan. If any proof is given against Hafiz Saeed, the Punjab government is ready to bring him to justice.

Rana Sanaullah said that the Punjab government does not allocate any amount in the financial budget for Jamaat-ud-Daawa. In Mureedkey, the high school and hospital are run by Jamaat-ud-Daawa in addition to their office also being located there. Sanaullah added that they asked the federal government and the US representatives whether to close the office and the institutions, after which they were asked not to close them, but that the Punjab government should take charge of these institutions and bear the expenditure for the school and the medicines of the hospital. Therefore, the Punjab government keeps an amount in the budget for running these institutions.

The defence lawyer in Mumbai Attacks’ Case Advocate Rizwan Abbasi said that there is no legal evidence to prove that these attacks were organised from Pakistan. There is no proof regarding relation of Ajmal Kasab with those who were nabbed. There is no telephonic talk of Ajmal Kasab that might provide sufficient evidence that he was in contact with those present in Pakistan. No legal requirements were fulfilled in this case. Nor Kasab was presented in the court. All of his proceedings were in-camera. It is a legal requirement that the person against whom confessional statement is to be used should be given the right of cross-examination.

“None of my clients including Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi were given the right for cross examination. It is pertinent to note that Pakistani investigation officers were not given access to Ajmal Kasab without any valid reason,” he said.

He added that there are many questions relating to Kasab’s confessional statement, and he deviated from his statement before the court, and he stated clearly that he was present in police custody and was forced to give the statement. India is constantly changing its statements with regard to the masterminds of Mumbai Attacks. David Headley also gave revelations in this regard in the US, but no access has been given so far to the Pakistani investigation officers. India also arrested Fahim Ansari and Sabeeh-ud-Din for their connection with Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, but Indian courts themselves released them due to absence of proof against them. India had information that some terrorists were coming to India through marine ways, which is why India should have taken measures to prevent them from entering its coasts.

Defence analyst Shahid Latif said the Indian lobby is strong in the US, and the Indian version is heard very attentively in the US. India, before any enquiry, presents its case forcefully before the world and the world believes it. All the matters regarding the Mumbai Attacks should be presented to US President Barack Obama.

The courts, he said, give verdicts on the basis of evidence, and not on lobbying or nuisance. Indian state Maharashtra's former IG police has written in his book that he made technical services divisions, which were assigned the task of carrying out terrorist activities in Pakistan. Ajmal Kasab was arrested from Nepal and was brought to India, therefore the matter of why Kasab had travelled to Nepal needed to be investigated.