Pak militant trained by 26/11 mastermind Lakhvi arrested in Baramulla

A Pakistani terrorist, who was indoctrinated and trained by 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, was arrested from Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said here on Wednesday.

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Mohammad Waqar Awan, who was tasked with reviving militancy in certain areas of the Kashmir valley, was arrested earlier this week and paraded before the media on Wednesday at the Police Control Room.

Awan, a resident of Mohalla Miana in Mianwali area of Punjab in Pakistan, was indoctrinated by Lakhvi at his residence in Rawalpindi, officials said.

The initial arms training to the Pakistani terrorist was also given by Lakhvi, who along with six others has been charged by the Pakistani authorities with planning and executing the Mumbai attacks in November, 2008 that left 166 people dead.

Lakhvi is currently on bail, and the case is moving very slowly.

Awan, known by alias of "Chota Dujana, told reporters that before he joined militancy, he was told that atrocities were being inflicted on the people of Kashmir by security forces but he saw no such thing in the Valley.

"I received training for four months at a camp in Muzaffarabad. I was told that atrocities are committed on children and women. Prayers are not allowed in mosques and houses of Muslims are destroyed, he told reporters, adding he found that the conditions were different in Kashmir.

Police officials said Awan's arrest and "confession" is live evidence for Pakistan as to how youths are manipulated on its soil, prepared for militancy and then sent here to join Jaish-e-Mohammad or Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Asked if he was involved in any attacks in the valley, Awan said, I was not involved in any attack."