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| Pak Navy trained me, admits Kasab |
| Announcement / Economy Jul 10, 2009, 18:45 IST |
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Muhammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, the Pakistani terrorist caught alive after the 26/11 attack in Mumbai, was trained by the Pakistan Marines, an elite unit of the Pakistan Navy, THE WEEK has reported.
Quoting Kasab's interrogation report by an intelligence agency, the magazine said in its latest cover story that Kasab and the nine other terrorists who struck Mumbai were extensively trained by the Lashkar-e-Toiba at it various camps, after which the marines taught them combat techniques. This trashes Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's claim of the involvement of just non-state actors in the Mumbai attack and clearly implicates the Pakistan military establishment.
They underwent crash courses in surveillance, reading topographical maps, sniping positions, urban warfare and kidnapping.
Kasab told interrogators that he and his comrades were taken to the sea briefly in the initial stages of the intensive training programme. The acclimatisation drills continued for two months in two separate instalments. Nautical miles increased in time. And at a later stage they were taught the specialised techniques of marine operations. Kasab told interrogators that he was introduced to specialised swimming techniques in a 'built-up' pool. Intelligence sources told THE WEEK that he was referring to the combat swimming training done by top naval units like the US Navy SEALs.
LeT military commander Zaki-ur Rahman Lakhwi, Kasab claimed, originally planned to hit Mumbai on September 27, but the date was changed at the last minute. Classified documents accessed by THE WEEK show that even as the Joint Anti-Terror Mechanism between India and Pakistan shared details of cross-border terrorism at its meeting on October 24, the Mumbai plan was set in motion with the connivance of the Pakistani military establishment.
Kasab's interrogators think that the terrorists could in all possibility have done a recce of the targets in Mumbai much ahead of 26/11. Senior Research and Analysis Wing officers told THE WEEK that Ismail, the leader of the pack, did the recce with the help of local elements.
The interrogation report accessed by THE WEEK has details about the training regime Kasab, a 21-year-old school dropout, and the others underwent in five stages. His references to 'buddy pair', navigation, metal detectors and GPS pointed to the fact that he had adequate military knowledge. Pakistan Marines is a specialised unit of the navy headquartered at Muhammad bin Qasim, a port in Karachi. It carries out designated operations and handles sensitive projects of national importance. THE WEEK had earlier reported (December 21, 2008) that Pakistan naval facilities like PNS Iqbal could have been used to train terrorists.
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