The Lashkar-e-Taiyba and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa might have disowned him, but the father of the lone Pakistani gunman arrested for the Mumbai terror attacks has admitted that the young man whose photograph was beamed by media across the world, is his son.
Amir Kasab , the father of Ajmal Amir Iman alias Ajmal Kasab, broke down as he made the admission to the influential Dawn newspaper in the courtyard of his house in Faridkot, a village of about 2,500 people in Okara district of Punjab province.
"I was in denial for the first couple of days, saying to myself it could not have been my son... Now I have accepted it. This is the truth. I have seen the picture in the newspaper. This is my son," Amir said in his first interview to the media since his son's arrest.
Britain's Observer newspaper and the BBC had earlier reported that Kasab belonged to Faridkot and had joined the Lashker-e-Tayiba some time ago.
The Observer's correspondent had located Kasab's home and gotten hold of the voters' roll which had the names of his parents Amir Kasab and Noor as well as the numbers on their national identity cards.
Reports had said that Kasab left home as a frustrated teenager about four years ago and went to Lahore in search of a job. After a brush with crime in that city, he reportedly joined the LeT.
Amir Kasab, a father of three sons and two daughters, said his son disappeared from home four years ago. "He had asked me for new clothes on Eid that I couldn't provide him. He got angry and left," he said.
As Amir talked to the Dawn's correspondents, Kasab's two sisters and a younger brother stood nearby. Their mother, wrapped in a chador, lay on a nearby charpoy.
"Her trance was broken as the small picture of Kasab lying in a Mumbai hospital was shown around. They appeared to have identified their son. The mother shrunk back in her chador but the father said he had no problem in talking about the subject," the newspaper reported.
Amir said he had settled in Faridkot after arriving from the nearby Haveli Lakha many years ago. He owned the house the family lived in and made a living by selling pakoras in the streets of the village.
He pointed to a hand-cart in one corner of the courtyard and said, "This is all I have. I shifted back to the village after doing the same job in Lahore. My eldest son, Afzal, is also back after a stint in Lahore. He is out working in the fields."
Faridkot is located off a busy road and bears all the characteristics of a lower-middle class locality in a big city, the newspaper reported.
Amir said he has had little say in Kasab's life since the day his son walked out on him. He calls the people who snatched his son from him his enemies, but has no clue who these enemies are, the paper reported.
Asked why he did not look for his son all this while, he said, "What could I do with the few resources that I had?"
Media reports had said that Kasab's handlers had promised him that his family would be compensated with Rs 1,50,000 after the completion of the Mumbai mission.
Though mild-mannered, Amir became agitated at the mention of the link between his son's actions and money. "I don't sell my sons," Amir said.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Target the Pakistan army, not Pakistan
Colonel Anil Athale (retd)
Without the follies of our own people this attack was not possible. Foremost is the United Progressive Alliance government's policy. The scrapping of anti-terror laws signalled the government's resolve to treat terrorists with kid gloves.
Essentially, in the last four-and-a-half years India has been without a leader. The consequence of that has been the mushrooming of violence in all corners of the country. With no policy, no leadership and demoralised police forces, the country of one billion people is rudderless. This is the prime and basic cause of encouraging the terrorists from across the border who saw a golden opportunity to fulfil their dream of breaking up India.
In addition to this is the Raj Thackeray-led mayhem in Mumbai and the obsession with the Malegaon bomb blast investigation. Raj Thackeray's infamy has spread from Kashmir (where I was last month) to Kanyakumari and Porbunder to Mizoram (where I was last week -- on a study mission again). Thanks to the exposure in the media, he is even well-known internationally. What this did was to convince the jihadis in Pakistan that Mumbai was at war with itself and ripe for an attack.
During my visit to Pakistan a few years ago I noticed the interest that an average Pakistani takes in events taking place in Mumbai in particular and India in general. Raj Thackeray prepared the ground in a sense for this jihadi attack on Mumbai. All this while the attention of the Mumbai police was focussed on bar girls and such 'important' issues.
The sadhvi Pragya Thakur and Ahbhinav Bharat episode in which a serving lieutenant colonel from army intelligence, Srikant Purohit, was allegedly involved in the Malegaon bomb blast is indeed a very serious matter. Instead of letting it take its due course, a chorus was mounted to create an image of 'Hindu terror'. Thus in one stroke, the politicians and media elevated an individual aberration. This was good vote bank politics that played havoc with the armed forces's morale and made their job extremely difficult.
It gave a handle to Pakistan to fish in troubled waters and an opening to create a chasm between the Indian Army and the minorities. The late Hemant Karkare, the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad chief, was on record saying that 70 percent of his time was being spent on the Malegaon investigation at the cost of many other cases like the horrific train bombing of 2006 for which no information exists even after two years. Who pressured the ATS to concentrate on Malegaon alone at the cost of everything else?
Though a digression, it needs to be reiterated that Indian Army has an unblemished record as far dealing with communal violence is concerned. Never has anyone levelled an allegation of bias in its conduct. I have personal experience of many riot-control missions and can vouch for that.
Even in Gujarat during the 2002 riots, the Muslims have always welcomed the army with flowers and regard it as their saviour. I had the opportunity to share the dais with Qutubuddin Ansari, a tailor from Ahmedabad, who became the 'face' of that agony, on August 15, 2002 at Pune at a function at which both Hindu and Muslim victims of the riots shared their grief and urged peace. Ansari told me that it was the army's timely arrival that saved him and his family.
The cavalier fashion in which the electronic and other media went about destroying the army's credibility will mark a new low in media irresponsibility. But what can one expect from a media that makes a love affair of a Patna college teacher with one of his students as 'breaking news'. It is this media that played its role in creating a situation where the jihadis saw a golden opportunity to strike India.
What can India do?
There has been a clamour for an attack on Pakistani territory to take out the 'terror-training camps'. This is asinine. Does anyone think that the camps will still be there? In any case, these are just some makeshift buildings; empty of all terrorists by now. The terrorists may well have abandoned it already. It will have no effect other than give the golden opportunity to the Pakistan army to disengage from the Afghan border and move east. This will pressure NATO and the US who will then breathe down our necks and not that of the Pakistanis.
It is by now very clear that our target ought to be the rogue Pakistan army. Yes, I use the word rogue with full responsibility. Remember, it was this very army that killed over 300,000 Bangladeshis in March 1971, according to the Hamidur Rehaman Commission report ordered by the Pakistani government itself. It was the biggest genocide since the Second World War and yet being the pet dog of the US, it escaped all consequences of this.
If India wants peace, it has to target the Pakistan army, not Pakistan. How to do it is not a matter for public debate and is best left that way.
This will liberate the long suffering Pakistani citizenry from tyranny. With its nukes, Pakistan is safe from military aggression from India. A cut down military is in the best interest of the whole world.
Colonel Athale is the Chhattrapati Shivaji Fellow at the United Services Institute, New Delhi, working on a project on internal security. He is also coordinator of the Pune-based think-tank Inpad.
Without the follies of our own people this attack was not possible. Foremost is the United Progressive Alliance government's policy. The scrapping of anti-terror laws signalled the government's resolve to treat terrorists with kid gloves.
Essentially, in the last four-and-a-half years India has been without a leader. The consequence of that has been the mushrooming of violence in all corners of the country. With no policy, no leadership and demoralised police forces, the country of one billion people is rudderless. This is the prime and basic cause of encouraging the terrorists from across the border who saw a golden opportunity to fulfil their dream of breaking up India.
In addition to this is the Raj Thackeray-led mayhem in Mumbai and the obsession with the Malegaon bomb blast investigation. Raj Thackeray's infamy has spread from Kashmir (where I was last month) to Kanyakumari and Porbunder to Mizoram (where I was last week -- on a study mission again). Thanks to the exposure in the media, he is even well-known internationally. What this did was to convince the jihadis in Pakistan that Mumbai was at war with itself and ripe for an attack.
During my visit to Pakistan a few years ago I noticed the interest that an average Pakistani takes in events taking place in Mumbai in particular and India in general. Raj Thackeray prepared the ground in a sense for this jihadi attack on Mumbai. All this while the attention of the Mumbai police was focussed on bar girls and such 'important' issues.
The sadhvi Pragya Thakur and Ahbhinav Bharat episode in which a serving lieutenant colonel from army intelligence, Srikant Purohit, was allegedly involved in the Malegaon bomb blast is indeed a very serious matter. Instead of letting it take its due course, a chorus was mounted to create an image of 'Hindu terror'. Thus in one stroke, the politicians and media elevated an individual aberration. This was good vote bank politics that played havoc with the armed forces's morale and made their job extremely difficult.
It gave a handle to Pakistan to fish in troubled waters and an opening to create a chasm between the Indian Army and the minorities. The late Hemant Karkare, the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad chief, was on record saying that 70 percent of his time was being spent on the Malegaon investigation at the cost of many other cases like the horrific train bombing of 2006 for which no information exists even after two years. Who pressured the ATS to concentrate on Malegaon alone at the cost of everything else?
Though a digression, it needs to be reiterated that Indian Army has an unblemished record as far dealing with communal violence is concerned. Never has anyone levelled an allegation of bias in its conduct. I have personal experience of many riot-control missions and can vouch for that.
Even in Gujarat during the 2002 riots, the Muslims have always welcomed the army with flowers and regard it as their saviour. I had the opportunity to share the dais with Qutubuddin Ansari, a tailor from Ahmedabad, who became the 'face' of that agony, on August 15, 2002 at Pune at a function at which both Hindu and Muslim victims of the riots shared their grief and urged peace. Ansari told me that it was the army's timely arrival that saved him and his family.
The cavalier fashion in which the electronic and other media went about destroying the army's credibility will mark a new low in media irresponsibility. But what can one expect from a media that makes a love affair of a Patna college teacher with one of his students as 'breaking news'. It is this media that played its role in creating a situation where the jihadis saw a golden opportunity to strike India.
What can India do?
There has been a clamour for an attack on Pakistani territory to take out the 'terror-training camps'. This is asinine. Does anyone think that the camps will still be there? In any case, these are just some makeshift buildings; empty of all terrorists by now. The terrorists may well have abandoned it already. It will have no effect other than give the golden opportunity to the Pakistan army to disengage from the Afghan border and move east. This will pressure NATO and the US who will then breathe down our necks and not that of the Pakistanis.
It is by now very clear that our target ought to be the rogue Pakistan army. Yes, I use the word rogue with full responsibility. Remember, it was this very army that killed over 300,000 Bangladeshis in March 1971, according to the Hamidur Rehaman Commission report ordered by the Pakistani government itself. It was the biggest genocide since the Second World War and yet being the pet dog of the US, it escaped all consequences of this.
If India wants peace, it has to target the Pakistan army, not Pakistan. How to do it is not a matter for public debate and is best left that way.
This will liberate the long suffering Pakistani citizenry from tyranny. With its nukes, Pakistan is safe from military aggression from India. A cut down military is in the best interest of the whole world.
Colonel Athale is the Chhattrapati Shivaji Fellow at the United Services Institute, New Delhi, working on a project on internal security. He is also coordinator of the Pune-based think-tank Inpad.
How should India respond to Mumbai attacks
Colonel Anil Athale (retd)
The Mumbai terror strike is no ordinary attack. All over the world there have been several blasts but in all those cases they have been attacks by stealth. Here is the first instance where the attackers have openly defied a nation of one billion. That the nation's 200 elite commandos were defied for 60 hours is a tremendous boost for the morale of terrorists all over the world. This also brings into question even India's nuclear deterrence. The effect of inaction can be devastating.
Understanding the attack objectives:
Enough has been written and shown about the methods, routes and actual actions of the young psychopath terrorists who killed Indian citizens and foreigners in Mumbai. I do not intend to cover that ground again except to say that as an ex-soldier (and a commando instructor) I felt immense pride at the bravery shown by our men in eliminating the terrorists.
I salute those brave men and women of the staff at the hotels who gave their lives to protect the guests in hotel. It is in a sense our finest hour -- shows how a decent peace-loving citizenry can rise to the occasion. I salute them.
First and foremost it must be clearly understood that the attack did not have a direct Pakistan government hand in it, by that I mean the civil government. Whether it had the backing of Pakistan Army /Inter Services Intelligence combine is a difficult question to answer. I wish to again reiterate that I do not distinguish between ISI and the army. This is myth propagated by the Pakistan army and swallowed by gullible Indian media; after all the ISI functions directly under the army chief (recent efforts to put it under civil control were brought to naught due to army pressure) and headed by a serving Lieutenant General. The ISI and Pakistan army are one and the same.
The young attackers had a single motivation -- to kill the maximum number of Indians. It is true that they asked for Americans and British citizens in hotels -- but that must have been when they may be running short of ammunition.
Some idea of the aim of the terrorists could be gauged from the effect it has had on the sub-continent. First and foremost, it has brought to naught the entire peace process and CBMs (confidence building measures) between India and Pakistan. This has been the aim of extremist elements in Pakistan for a very long time. Some elements in Pakistan, close to the army, are blaming India for over-reaction. These worthies forget that it is the failure of the Pakistan government and society to control these jihadists in their midst that is the reason for this sorry pass.
The rise in Indo-Pakistan tensions has given the opportunity to the Pakistani army to wind down its operations against al Qaeda and Taliban on the Afghan border. Thus the direct beneficiary of this attack is undoubtedly al Qaeda/Taliban. The perceived threat from India has given rise to the Taliban offering a ceasefire to the Pakistan army to deal with the infidel enemy on the east -- India! This has extricated the Pakistan army from a difficult and bloody campaign that many in Pakistan and in its army had termed as 'America's war'. Thus there is a convergence of interests of Taliban/Al Qaeda /Pakistan army in breaking the Indo-Pakistan peace process and creating tensions on the Indo-Pakistan border.
In international affairs there are no accidents -- each event has a firm cause-effect relationship. It is therefore fair to assume that it was a joint al Qaeda/Taliban/Pakistan Army operation. Here the term 'Taliban is used in a generic sense and includes groups like Massod Azhar's Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayiba or its new 'avatar' Markaz-e-Dawa. As more and more evidence comes to light, involvement of groups from the middle-east -- Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and UK-based Pakistani is coming to light. There seems to be a 'consortium' formed to carry out terror attacks in India.
Another reason to suspect such involvement is the magnitude of logistic support needed for such an operation. Even professional armies find it difficult to launch a sea borne assault nearly 500 nautical miles from its base! As a thumb rule for each terrorist in operation, there would be ten persons needed for support and logistics. This means at least 100 to 150 persons are involved with skills ranging from sea navigation to communication to medical aid. The terrorist must have planned for contingencies and a get away. A local support cell is an absolute certainty.
None of this can be done without support or nod from the real rulers of Pakistan -- the army. Democratic fa�ade notwithstanding -- Pakistan is unique. Elsewhere a country has an army -- here an army has a country. One of the pluses of this operation could well be the ending of brief life of the democratic govt in that country. The Pakistan army has conquered Pakistan several times, it may well be preparing for anther conquest of their own country.
Predictably, western pressure seems to be mounting on India, the victim of terrorism and not Pakistan the perpetrator. The West is solely interested in getting help for its operations in Afghanistan -- Indian loss of lives be damned. Some indication of this is already available with Western media acting coy in acknowledging the fact that a terrorist has been caught alive and singing like a canary.
There have been attempts to link this with Kashmir -- the perennial love of the West. That at this very moment Kashmir has voted in elections -- an overwhelming 60 percent -- is of no consequence to the blind western media. Indians have seen this farce repeat in the past 30 years, the end of Cold war has done very little to change this entrenched mindset. This author was in Salzburg (Austria) last year September attending a global workshop on terrorism. Whenever there was a mention of a terrorist attack, 9/11 topped the list and that included London and Madrid bombings but never the serial bomb attacks on Mumbai. But it must be admitted that it is wrong to blame the foreigners alone. Our own pseudo liberals and secularists have time and time only highlighted the victim hood of minorities. These anti-nationals have created an image of the country and its majority as one of the most intolerant countries in the world.
Col Athale is Chhattrapati Shivaji fellow of the USI, Delhi, working on a project on internal security. He is also coordinator of the Pune-based think tank Inpad.
The Mumbai terror strike is no ordinary attack. All over the world there have been several blasts but in all those cases they have been attacks by stealth. Here is the first instance where the attackers have openly defied a nation of one billion. That the nation's 200 elite commandos were defied for 60 hours is a tremendous boost for the morale of terrorists all over the world. This also brings into question even India's nuclear deterrence. The effect of inaction can be devastating.
Understanding the attack objectives:
Enough has been written and shown about the methods, routes and actual actions of the young psychopath terrorists who killed Indian citizens and foreigners in Mumbai. I do not intend to cover that ground again except to say that as an ex-soldier (and a commando instructor) I felt immense pride at the bravery shown by our men in eliminating the terrorists.
I salute those brave men and women of the staff at the hotels who gave their lives to protect the guests in hotel. It is in a sense our finest hour -- shows how a decent peace-loving citizenry can rise to the occasion. I salute them.
First and foremost it must be clearly understood that the attack did not have a direct Pakistan government hand in it, by that I mean the civil government. Whether it had the backing of Pakistan Army /Inter Services Intelligence combine is a difficult question to answer. I wish to again reiterate that I do not distinguish between ISI and the army. This is myth propagated by the Pakistan army and swallowed by gullible Indian media; after all the ISI functions directly under the army chief (recent efforts to put it under civil control were brought to naught due to army pressure) and headed by a serving Lieutenant General. The ISI and Pakistan army are one and the same.
The young attackers had a single motivation -- to kill the maximum number of Indians. It is true that they asked for Americans and British citizens in hotels -- but that must have been when they may be running short of ammunition.
Some idea of the aim of the terrorists could be gauged from the effect it has had on the sub-continent. First and foremost, it has brought to naught the entire peace process and CBMs (confidence building measures) between India and Pakistan. This has been the aim of extremist elements in Pakistan for a very long time. Some elements in Pakistan, close to the army, are blaming India for over-reaction. These worthies forget that it is the failure of the Pakistan government and society to control these jihadists in their midst that is the reason for this sorry pass.
The rise in Indo-Pakistan tensions has given the opportunity to the Pakistani army to wind down its operations against al Qaeda and Taliban on the Afghan border. Thus the direct beneficiary of this attack is undoubtedly al Qaeda/Taliban. The perceived threat from India has given rise to the Taliban offering a ceasefire to the Pakistan army to deal with the infidel enemy on the east -- India! This has extricated the Pakistan army from a difficult and bloody campaign that many in Pakistan and in its army had termed as 'America's war'. Thus there is a convergence of interests of Taliban/Al Qaeda /Pakistan army in breaking the Indo-Pakistan peace process and creating tensions on the Indo-Pakistan border.
In international affairs there are no accidents -- each event has a firm cause-effect relationship. It is therefore fair to assume that it was a joint al Qaeda/Taliban/Pakistan Army operation. Here the term 'Taliban is used in a generic sense and includes groups like Massod Azhar's Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayiba or its new 'avatar' Markaz-e-Dawa. As more and more evidence comes to light, involvement of groups from the middle-east -- Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and UK-based Pakistani is coming to light. There seems to be a 'consortium' formed to carry out terror attacks in India.
Another reason to suspect such involvement is the magnitude of logistic support needed for such an operation. Even professional armies find it difficult to launch a sea borne assault nearly 500 nautical miles from its base! As a thumb rule for each terrorist in operation, there would be ten persons needed for support and logistics. This means at least 100 to 150 persons are involved with skills ranging from sea navigation to communication to medical aid. The terrorist must have planned for contingencies and a get away. A local support cell is an absolute certainty.
None of this can be done without support or nod from the real rulers of Pakistan -- the army. Democratic fa�ade notwithstanding -- Pakistan is unique. Elsewhere a country has an army -- here an army has a country. One of the pluses of this operation could well be the ending of brief life of the democratic govt in that country. The Pakistan army has conquered Pakistan several times, it may well be preparing for anther conquest of their own country.
Predictably, western pressure seems to be mounting on India, the victim of terrorism and not Pakistan the perpetrator. The West is solely interested in getting help for its operations in Afghanistan -- Indian loss of lives be damned. Some indication of this is already available with Western media acting coy in acknowledging the fact that a terrorist has been caught alive and singing like a canary.
There have been attempts to link this with Kashmir -- the perennial love of the West. That at this very moment Kashmir has voted in elections -- an overwhelming 60 percent -- is of no consequence to the blind western media. Indians have seen this farce repeat in the past 30 years, the end of Cold war has done very little to change this entrenched mindset. This author was in Salzburg (Austria) last year September attending a global workshop on terrorism. Whenever there was a mention of a terrorist attack, 9/11 topped the list and that included London and Madrid bombings but never the serial bomb attacks on Mumbai. But it must be admitted that it is wrong to blame the foreigners alone. Our own pseudo liberals and secularists have time and time only highlighted the victim hood of minorities. These anti-nationals have created an image of the country and its majority as one of the most intolerant countries in the world.
Col Athale is Chhattrapati Shivaji fellow of the USI, Delhi, working on a project on internal security. He is also coordinator of the Pune-based think tank Inpad.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
12 steps to shock-and-awe Pakistan's economy
R Vaidyanathan
December 11, 2008
The terror attack on world citizens at Mumbai has created revulsion and outrage all over the world. It is imperative that India seize the opportunity provided to destabilise Pakistan.
A stable Pakistan is not in the interest of world peace, leave alone India. Army controls the country and owns its economy.
A significant portion of its GDP is due to army-controlled entities (See: Military Inc - Inside Pakistan's Military Economy, by Ayesha Siddiqa; OUP; 2007). One can easily say that Pakistan economy and its Army/ISI are synonymous.
Unless this elementary fact is internalised, we are not going anywhere. This implies we should stop talking of a stable Pakistan since a stable Pakistan means multiple attacks on many more cities of India by that rogue organisation ISI, which is the core of the Pakistan Army and the heart of Pakistan's economy.
Let us not even assume that Zardari is in control. Poor man -- he did not trust his own investigators to probe his wife's assassination -- he wanted Scotland Yard to do the job. Now he blabbers that if his investigators are satisfied, then he will initiate action against terrorists sitting inside Pakistan.
Periodically, the Pakistan Army likes to present some useful idiots (as Lenin would have called them) as elected representatives and we swoon over such events.
India should take the following steps to destabilise the economy of Pakistan:
1. Identify the major export items of Pakistan (like Basmati rice, carpets, etc) and provide zero export tax or even subsidise them for export from India. Hurt Pakistan on the export front.
2. Identify the major countries providing arms to Pakistan and arm twist them. Tell Brazil and Germany (currently planning to supply massive defense items to Pakistan) that it will impact their ability to invest in India. Tell Germany that retail license to Metro will be off and other existing projects will be in jeopardy.
3. Incidentally, after the arrival of Coke and Pepsi in China, the human rights violations of China are not talked about much by US government organs. Think it is a coincidence? Unless we use our markets to arm-twist arms exporters to Pakistan, we will not achieve our objectives.
4. Tell American companies that for every 5% increase in FDI limit for them, their government needs to reduce equipping Pakistan by $5 billion. That is real politics, not whining. Let us remember that funds are in desperate search of emerging markets and not the other way about. Let us also remember that international economics is politics by another name.
5. Create assets to print/distribute their currency widely inside their country. To some extent, Telgi types can be used to outsource this activity. Or just drop their notes in remote areas.
6. Pressurise IMF to add additional conditionality to the loans given to them or at least do not vote for their loans.
7. Create assets within Pakistan to destabilise Karachi stock market - it is already in a shambles.
8. Cricket and Bollywood are the opium of the Indian middle classes. Both have been adequately manipulated/ controlled by the D-company since the eighties. Chase the D-company money in cricket/ Bollywood and punish by burning D-assets in India instead of trying to have them auctioned by the IT department when nobody comes to bid for it.
9. Provide for capital punishment to those who fund terror and help in that. We have the division in the finance ministry to monitor money laundering, etc. It is important that terror financing is taken seriously and fully integrated into money laundering monitoring systems and this division is provided with much larger budget and human resources. And it should coordinate with RAW.
10. Encourage and allow scientists/ academicians/ elites of Pakistan to opt for Indian passport and widely publicise that fact since it will hurt their self-respect and dignity. There will be a long queue to get Indian passports -- many will jump to get our passport -- since they will not be stopped at international airports. It is rumoured that Adnan Sami wants one. Do not give passports to all -- make it a prized possession. Let it hurt the army- and ISI-controlled country. This one step will destroy their identity and self-confidence.
11. Discourage companies from India from investing in Pakistan, particularly IT companies, till Pakistan stops exporting its own IT (international terrorism).
12. In all these, it is important that we do not bring in the domestic religious issues. The target is the terror central, namely Pakistan, and if there are elements helping them here then they also should be punished -- irrespective of religious labels. If Pakistan is dismantled and the idea of Pakistan is gone, many of our domestic issues will also be sorted out.
Will the Indian elite go for the jugular or just light more candles and scream at the formless/ nameless political class before TV cameras?
It is going to be a long haul and may be in a decade or so, we can find a solution to our existential crisis of being attacked by barbarians from the West. We need to combine strategy and patience and completely throw to the dustbin the 'Gujral Doctrine' by that mumbling prime minister about treating younger brothers with equanimity. The doctrine essentially suggests that if we are slapped on both the cheeks we should feel bad that we do not have a third cheek to show.
He, according to security experts, seems to have dismantled our human intelligent assets inside Pakistan, which has resulted in the gory death of thousands of Indian citizens in the last few years.
Such is our strategic thinking in this complex world since our political class is not adequately briefed and the elite don't think through issues. Better to be simple in our talks and vicious in our actions rather than the other way.
Hopefully, this November attack will create a new vibrant India capable of taking care of its own interests.
The author is professor of finance and control, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, and can be contacted at vaidya@iimb.ernet.in. The views are personal and do not reflect those of his organisation.
December 11, 2008
The terror attack on world citizens at Mumbai has created revulsion and outrage all over the world. It is imperative that India seize the opportunity provided to destabilise Pakistan.
A stable Pakistan is not in the interest of world peace, leave alone India. Army controls the country and owns its economy.
A significant portion of its GDP is due to army-controlled entities (See: Military Inc - Inside Pakistan's Military Economy, by Ayesha Siddiqa; OUP; 2007). One can easily say that Pakistan economy and its Army/ISI are synonymous.
Unless this elementary fact is internalised, we are not going anywhere. This implies we should stop talking of a stable Pakistan since a stable Pakistan means multiple attacks on many more cities of India by that rogue organisation ISI, which is the core of the Pakistan Army and the heart of Pakistan's economy.
Let us not even assume that Zardari is in control. Poor man -- he did not trust his own investigators to probe his wife's assassination -- he wanted Scotland Yard to do the job. Now he blabbers that if his investigators are satisfied, then he will initiate action against terrorists sitting inside Pakistan.
Periodically, the Pakistan Army likes to present some useful idiots (as Lenin would have called them) as elected representatives and we swoon over such events.
India should take the following steps to destabilise the economy of Pakistan:
1. Identify the major export items of Pakistan (like Basmati rice, carpets, etc) and provide zero export tax or even subsidise them for export from India. Hurt Pakistan on the export front.
2. Identify the major countries providing arms to Pakistan and arm twist them. Tell Brazil and Germany (currently planning to supply massive defense items to Pakistan) that it will impact their ability to invest in India. Tell Germany that retail license to Metro will be off and other existing projects will be in jeopardy.
3. Incidentally, after the arrival of Coke and Pepsi in China, the human rights violations of China are not talked about much by US government organs. Think it is a coincidence? Unless we use our markets to arm-twist arms exporters to Pakistan, we will not achieve our objectives.
4. Tell American companies that for every 5% increase in FDI limit for them, their government needs to reduce equipping Pakistan by $5 billion. That is real politics, not whining. Let us remember that funds are in desperate search of emerging markets and not the other way about. Let us also remember that international economics is politics by another name.
5. Create assets to print/distribute their currency widely inside their country. To some extent, Telgi types can be used to outsource this activity. Or just drop their notes in remote areas.
6. Pressurise IMF to add additional conditionality to the loans given to them or at least do not vote for their loans.
7. Create assets within Pakistan to destabilise Karachi stock market - it is already in a shambles.
8. Cricket and Bollywood are the opium of the Indian middle classes. Both have been adequately manipulated/ controlled by the D-company since the eighties. Chase the D-company money in cricket/ Bollywood and punish by burning D-assets in India instead of trying to have them auctioned by the IT department when nobody comes to bid for it.
9. Provide for capital punishment to those who fund terror and help in that. We have the division in the finance ministry to monitor money laundering, etc. It is important that terror financing is taken seriously and fully integrated into money laundering monitoring systems and this division is provided with much larger budget and human resources. And it should coordinate with RAW.
10. Encourage and allow scientists/ academicians/ elites of Pakistan to opt for Indian passport and widely publicise that fact since it will hurt their self-respect and dignity. There will be a long queue to get Indian passports -- many will jump to get our passport -- since they will not be stopped at international airports. It is rumoured that Adnan Sami wants one. Do not give passports to all -- make it a prized possession. Let it hurt the army- and ISI-controlled country. This one step will destroy their identity and self-confidence.
11. Discourage companies from India from investing in Pakistan, particularly IT companies, till Pakistan stops exporting its own IT (international terrorism).
12. In all these, it is important that we do not bring in the domestic religious issues. The target is the terror central, namely Pakistan, and if there are elements helping them here then they also should be punished -- irrespective of religious labels. If Pakistan is dismantled and the idea of Pakistan is gone, many of our domestic issues will also be sorted out.
Will the Indian elite go for the jugular or just light more candles and scream at the formless/ nameless political class before TV cameras?
It is going to be a long haul and may be in a decade or so, we can find a solution to our existential crisis of being attacked by barbarians from the West. We need to combine strategy and patience and completely throw to the dustbin the 'Gujral Doctrine' by that mumbling prime minister about treating younger brothers with equanimity. The doctrine essentially suggests that if we are slapped on both the cheeks we should feel bad that we do not have a third cheek to show.
He, according to security experts, seems to have dismantled our human intelligent assets inside Pakistan, which has resulted in the gory death of thousands of Indian citizens in the last few years.
Such is our strategic thinking in this complex world since our political class is not adequately briefed and the elite don't think through issues. Better to be simple in our talks and vicious in our actions rather than the other way.
Hopefully, this November attack will create a new vibrant India capable of taking care of its own interests.
The author is professor of finance and control, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, and can be contacted at vaidya@iimb.ernet.in. The views are personal and do not reflect those of his organisation.
8 things India Inc, govt must do against Pakistan
R Vaidyanathan
December 10, 2008
The three-day-long terror strike on the country's financial capital was devastating in terms of its reach and impact. It has left Corporate India badly shaken and the elites numb.
It is no more about bombs being thrown at bus stations or trains getting blasted. It is no longer about only Nagpada or Govindpuri residents losing limbs and lives. Terror has now climbed up the value chain.
As the new age entrepreneur Kiran Majumdar Shaw told a Bangalore newspaper, "So far, the terrorists targeted common people. Now the society's elite, the business sector, is the target. What happened in Mumbai is a loud wake-up call for all of us to do something to protect ourselves."
Corporate India did not bat an eyelid when Mumbai train blasts took place, or when Sarojini Nagar was burning on a Diwali day, or Hyderabad was weeping two years before.
But today, every corporate captain is angry, and so are the celebrities who people Page 3 of newspapers, due largely because the attacks on the three top hotels were directly aimed at those who frequent these places, for business or pleasure (contrast this with the scant coverage of the carnage at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, for example, where commoners were involved).
All the same, the bleeding-heart liberals would be back to their routine ways after a few days. They will lament that the captured terrorist has not been given his favourite food and not allowed to watch TV or use his cell phone; they will say his human rights are violated. Just wait for the chorus.
Of course, this time it will be between Page 3 and the jholawalas (activists) and that should be an interesting match to watch, but that's another story.
In the last ten years, not a single session of any seminar sponsored by the CII or Ficci or business/general journals has focussed on terrorism. When this writer once broached the importance of talking about it, a senior business captain said it is for the government to deal with.
Many of those seminars gave importance to Musharraf and now Zardari, as if they are going to provide any solution when they are a part of the problem.
Now, at least, terrorism is being realised as a problem facing the country.
Let us summarise what the real situation is and what the corporate sector should do if we are serious in fighting terrorism on our soil.
1. Recognise and treat Pakistan as a terrorist state. The state policy of Pakistan is terrorism and their single-point programme is to destroy India. This needs to be internalised by every business baron including the owners of media.
2. Now, the elite of Pakistan are more angry, since India is growing at 7% and they are given CCC rating and stiff conditions for borrowing from the IMF.
Many an academic from that country, who I have met in global conferences, has openly lamented that nobody talks about Indo-Pak relations anymore, but only Indo-China or Indo-American, etc. They want to be equal but they are in deep abyss.
3. Pakistan is the only territory in the world where an army has a whole country under its control. This is an important issue since studies have found that a large number of corporates in Pakistan are ultimately owned by the Fauji Foundation (FF), Army Welfare Trust (AWT) Bahria Foundation (BF), Shaheen Foundation (SF) all owned by different wings of armed forces (See paper presented by Dr Ayesha Siddiqa-Agha on 'Power, Perks, Prestige And Privileges: Military's Economic Activities In Pakistan' in The International Conference on Soldiers in Business -- Military as an Economic Actor; Jakarta, October 17-19, 2000).
Hence, do not try to think of Pakistan without its army, irrespective of who rules that country temporarily and nominally. At least 70% of the market capitalisation of the Karachi stock exchange is owned by the army and related groups.
4. There are three groups in India, who are obsessed with friendship with Pakistan. One is the oldies born in that part before partition and who are nostalgic about the Lahore havelis, halwas and mujras. The second is the Bollywood and other assorted groups, who look at it as a big market. The Dawood gang has financed enough of these useful idiots. The third is the candle light holding bleeding heart liberals (BHLs) who cannot imagine India doing well without its younger brother taken care of.
All three have been proved wrong hundreds of times, but they are also opinion makers. Shun them, avoid them and ridicule them.
5. We should categorically, unambiguously, unequivocally boycott Pakistan in all aspects for a decade or more. Be it art, music, economy, commerce, or other hand-holding activities. That army-controlled state has to realise that it has done enough damage to global civilisation.
More than 100 acts/attempts of terror recorded in the world since 9/11 have had their roots in Pakistan. More than 40% of the prisoners in Guantanamo are Pakistanis.
6. We should recognise that it is our war and nobody in the world is going to wage it on our behalf. What the Americans are thinking, or what the Britishers are going to do, will not help. A determined country should have a sense of dignity and independence to fight its war.
We should stop interviewing leaders from that country who mouth the same inanities that "you have not produced any proof." The Government of India should perhaps create a museum of proof between India Gate and North Block.
I am amazed that a country of a billion is required even to furnish proof. If one-sixth of humanity says that the terrorist state of Pakistan is the root cause of global terrorism -- it is factual. Let us not fall into the trap of providing proof to the culprits.
7. We should realise that a united Pakistan is a grave threat to the existence of India. Hence, we should do everything possible to break up Pakistan into several units. This is required to be done not only for our interest, but for world peace.
8. We have made a grave blunder by suggesting in the international fora that "Pakistan is also a victim of terror." That is a grave error and it will haunt us for decades. They are perpetrators and our government is in deep illusion if it tries to distinguish between organs of power in that country thinking it is like India.
There is only one organ, namely its army (with ISI as a sub-organ) in that country, which owns and controls at least 70% of the GDP in that country.
If we want the world to treat Pakistan for what it is, then we should start practising it. Always call it the 'terrorist state of Pakistan' and never have any illusion that it is going to be any different.
If corporate India, including electronic/ print media, starts practising this, we should see results in a few years. Are the elites listening?
The author is professor of finance and control, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, and can be contacted at vaidya@iimb.ernet.in. The views are personal and do not reflect those of his organisation.
December 10, 2008
The three-day-long terror strike on the country's financial capital was devastating in terms of its reach and impact. It has left Corporate India badly shaken and the elites numb.
It is no more about bombs being thrown at bus stations or trains getting blasted. It is no longer about only Nagpada or Govindpuri residents losing limbs and lives. Terror has now climbed up the value chain.
As the new age entrepreneur Kiran Majumdar Shaw told a Bangalore newspaper, "So far, the terrorists targeted common people. Now the society's elite, the business sector, is the target. What happened in Mumbai is a loud wake-up call for all of us to do something to protect ourselves."
Corporate India did not bat an eyelid when Mumbai train blasts took place, or when Sarojini Nagar was burning on a Diwali day, or Hyderabad was weeping two years before.
But today, every corporate captain is angry, and so are the celebrities who people Page 3 of newspapers, due largely because the attacks on the three top hotels were directly aimed at those who frequent these places, for business or pleasure (contrast this with the scant coverage of the carnage at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, for example, where commoners were involved).
All the same, the bleeding-heart liberals would be back to their routine ways after a few days. They will lament that the captured terrorist has not been given his favourite food and not allowed to watch TV or use his cell phone; they will say his human rights are violated. Just wait for the chorus.
Of course, this time it will be between Page 3 and the jholawalas (activists) and that should be an interesting match to watch, but that's another story.
In the last ten years, not a single session of any seminar sponsored by the CII or Ficci or business/general journals has focussed on terrorism. When this writer once broached the importance of talking about it, a senior business captain said it is for the government to deal with.
Many of those seminars gave importance to Musharraf and now Zardari, as if they are going to provide any solution when they are a part of the problem.
Now, at least, terrorism is being realised as a problem facing the country.
Let us summarise what the real situation is and what the corporate sector should do if we are serious in fighting terrorism on our soil.
1. Recognise and treat Pakistan as a terrorist state. The state policy of Pakistan is terrorism and their single-point programme is to destroy India. This needs to be internalised by every business baron including the owners of media.
2. Now, the elite of Pakistan are more angry, since India is growing at 7% and they are given CCC rating and stiff conditions for borrowing from the IMF.
Many an academic from that country, who I have met in global conferences, has openly lamented that nobody talks about Indo-Pak relations anymore, but only Indo-China or Indo-American, etc. They want to be equal but they are in deep abyss.
3. Pakistan is the only territory in the world where an army has a whole country under its control. This is an important issue since studies have found that a large number of corporates in Pakistan are ultimately owned by the Fauji Foundation (FF), Army Welfare Trust (AWT) Bahria Foundation (BF), Shaheen Foundation (SF) all owned by different wings of armed forces (See paper presented by Dr Ayesha Siddiqa-Agha on 'Power, Perks, Prestige And Privileges: Military's Economic Activities In Pakistan' in The International Conference on Soldiers in Business -- Military as an Economic Actor; Jakarta, October 17-19, 2000).
Hence, do not try to think of Pakistan without its army, irrespective of who rules that country temporarily and nominally. At least 70% of the market capitalisation of the Karachi stock exchange is owned by the army and related groups.
4. There are three groups in India, who are obsessed with friendship with Pakistan. One is the oldies born in that part before partition and who are nostalgic about the Lahore havelis, halwas and mujras. The second is the Bollywood and other assorted groups, who look at it as a big market. The Dawood gang has financed enough of these useful idiots. The third is the candle light holding bleeding heart liberals (BHLs) who cannot imagine India doing well without its younger brother taken care of.
All three have been proved wrong hundreds of times, but they are also opinion makers. Shun them, avoid them and ridicule them.
5. We should categorically, unambiguously, unequivocally boycott Pakistan in all aspects for a decade or more. Be it art, music, economy, commerce, or other hand-holding activities. That army-controlled state has to realise that it has done enough damage to global civilisation.
More than 100 acts/attempts of terror recorded in the world since 9/11 have had their roots in Pakistan. More than 40% of the prisoners in Guantanamo are Pakistanis.
6. We should recognise that it is our war and nobody in the world is going to wage it on our behalf. What the Americans are thinking, or what the Britishers are going to do, will not help. A determined country should have a sense of dignity and independence to fight its war.
We should stop interviewing leaders from that country who mouth the same inanities that "you have not produced any proof." The Government of India should perhaps create a museum of proof between India Gate and North Block.
I am amazed that a country of a billion is required even to furnish proof. If one-sixth of humanity says that the terrorist state of Pakistan is the root cause of global terrorism -- it is factual. Let us not fall into the trap of providing proof to the culprits.
7. We should realise that a united Pakistan is a grave threat to the existence of India. Hence, we should do everything possible to break up Pakistan into several units. This is required to be done not only for our interest, but for world peace.
8. We have made a grave blunder by suggesting in the international fora that "Pakistan is also a victim of terror." That is a grave error and it will haunt us for decades. They are perpetrators and our government is in deep illusion if it tries to distinguish between organs of power in that country thinking it is like India.
There is only one organ, namely its army (with ISI as a sub-organ) in that country, which owns and controls at least 70% of the GDP in that country.
If we want the world to treat Pakistan for what it is, then we should start practising it. Always call it the 'terrorist state of Pakistan' and never have any illusion that it is going to be any different.
If corporate India, including electronic/ print media, starts practising this, we should see results in a few years. Are the elites listening?
The author is professor of finance and control, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, and can be contacted at vaidya@iimb.ernet.in. The views are personal and do not reflect those of his organisation.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
कस्टम्स विभाग के आदेश से आसान हुई आतंकियों की राहें
7 Dec 2008, नवभारतटाइम्स.कॉम
नई दिल्ली : मुंबई में हुए भीषण आतंकी हमले के बाद सरकार यह पता लगाने में जुटी है कि आखिर उसकी विशाल प्रशासनिक मशीनरी के किस हिस्से से चूक हुई , वहीं मुंबई के कस्टम्स अधिकारियों का एक तबका इस उधेड़बुन में उलझा है कि कहीं इस चूक की एक वजह वह आदेश तो नहीं जो कुछ माह पहले उनके विभाग के एक बड़े अधिकारी ने जारी किया था ! इसी आदेश का नतीजा था कि आम तौर पर चौबीसो घंटे सतर्क और सक्रिय रहने वाले कस्टम्स विभाग ने मुंबई आतंकी हमलों से कुछ महीने पहले से ही गश्त और तलाशी का काम लगभग बंद कर रखा था।
भरोसेमंद सूत्रों के मुताबिक मुंबई के कस्टम्स कमिश्नर (प्रिवेंटिव) शोभा राम ने इसी साल 23 जुलाई को जारी किए गए निर्देश (निर्देश संख्या 01 / 2008 ; F No. CIU / XI-XVIII / 2008 / 657 ) में कहा कि जब तक कि एकदम पक्की और डीआरआई - 1 फॉरमैट में लिखित रूप में दर्ज सूचना न हो , गश्त के दौरान कस्टम्स अधिकारियों को किसी कंटेनर या वाहन को रोकने या उसकी तलाशी लेने की इजाज़त नहीं होगी।
इस आदेश में यह भी कहा गया है कि अगर किसी अधिकारी ने पर्याप्त अधिकार और पूर्व इजाज़त के बगैर किसी वाहन को रोका या उसकी तलाशी ली तो उसके खिलाफ अनुशासनात्मक कार्रवाई की जाएगी।
गौरतलब है कि 1993 के मुंबई बम धमाकों का कड़वा अनुभव होने (तब भी समुद्री मार्ग से ही विस्फोटक मुंबई पहुंचाए गए थे) और बेंगलुरु , अहमदाबाद , दिल्ली जैसे शहरों में हुए बम धमाकों के बाद मुंबई में ऐसे किसी हमले की आशंका होने के कारण कस्टम्स अधिकारी महसूस कर रहे थे कि उन्हें और अलर्ट होकर काम करना चाहिए। लेकिन , इस आदेश ने उनके हाथ-पांव बांध रखे थे।
बताया जाता है कि यह आदेश कुछ कस्टम्स अधिकारियों की हरकतों पर रोक लगाने के लिए लाया गया था जो जांच-पड़ताल के नाम पर हर कंटेनर या वाहन को रोक देते थे और पैसे वसूल करके ही उसे छोड़ते थे। लेकिन इसने विभाग के उन अधिकारियों को भी अपना काम करने से रोक दिया जो टूटी-फूटी पुरानी बोटें और पेट्रॉल की कमी जैसी बाधाओं के बावजूद अपनी सक्रियता कम नहीं होने दे रहे थे।
इस लिखित आदेश का नतीजा यह निकला कि कस्टम्स विभाग के प्रिवेंटिव विंग की देखरेख में चलने वाला तटीय क्षेत्रों की निगरानी का काम लगभग ठप हो गया। इस आदेश ने वाहनों की चेकिंग ही नहीं , गश्त के काम पर भी असर डाला था। आदेश के अनुसार अफसरों को किसी वाहन की तलाशी से पहले डीआरआई-1 (डाइरेक्टरेट ऑफ रेवेन्यू इंटेलिजेंस प्रिसक्राइब्ड फॉर्म) भरना जरूरी हो गया था। जानकारों के मुताबिक इस जटिल प्रक्रिया को पूरा करने में तीन से चार दिन लग जाते हैं।
यानी अब कस्टम्स अधिकारियों के लिए यह संभव नहीं था कि गश्त के दौरान संदेह होने पर किसी बोट या कंटेनर की तलाशी ले सकें। इसका नतीजा यह हुआ कि तलाशी ही नहीं , गश्त का काम भी लगभग ठप हो गया।
हम यह नहीं कह रहे कि यह आदेश आतंकवादियों को विस्फोटक और हथियार भारत में पहुंचाने में मदद देने के लिए जारी किया गया था। लेकिन इसमें कोई संदेह नहीं कि कस्टम्स विभाग के इस आदेश ने आतंकवादियों का काम आसान बना दिया। बेहतर यह होता कि कस्टम्स विभाग में व्याप्त भ्रष्टाचार को रोकने के लिए कोई और कदम उठाया जाता।
इस आदेश के बारे में कस्टम्स कमिश्नर (प्रिवेंटिव) शोभा राम का पक्ष जानने के लिए उनके घर फोन करने पर बताया गया कि वह शहर से बाहर हैं। घर वालों ने मोबाइल नंबर देने से इनकार कर दिया।
नई दिल्ली : मुंबई में हुए भीषण आतंकी हमले के बाद सरकार यह पता लगाने में जुटी है कि आखिर उसकी विशाल प्रशासनिक मशीनरी के किस हिस्से से चूक हुई , वहीं मुंबई के कस्टम्स अधिकारियों का एक तबका इस उधेड़बुन में उलझा है कि कहीं इस चूक की एक वजह वह आदेश तो नहीं जो कुछ माह पहले उनके विभाग के एक बड़े अधिकारी ने जारी किया था ! इसी आदेश का नतीजा था कि आम तौर पर चौबीसो घंटे सतर्क और सक्रिय रहने वाले कस्टम्स विभाग ने मुंबई आतंकी हमलों से कुछ महीने पहले से ही गश्त और तलाशी का काम लगभग बंद कर रखा था।
भरोसेमंद सूत्रों के मुताबिक मुंबई के कस्टम्स कमिश्नर (प्रिवेंटिव) शोभा राम ने इसी साल 23 जुलाई को जारी किए गए निर्देश (निर्देश संख्या 01 / 2008 ; F No. CIU / XI-XVIII / 2008 / 657 ) में कहा कि जब तक कि एकदम पक्की और डीआरआई - 1 फॉरमैट में लिखित रूप में दर्ज सूचना न हो , गश्त के दौरान कस्टम्स अधिकारियों को किसी कंटेनर या वाहन को रोकने या उसकी तलाशी लेने की इजाज़त नहीं होगी।
इस आदेश में यह भी कहा गया है कि अगर किसी अधिकारी ने पर्याप्त अधिकार और पूर्व इजाज़त के बगैर किसी वाहन को रोका या उसकी तलाशी ली तो उसके खिलाफ अनुशासनात्मक कार्रवाई की जाएगी।
गौरतलब है कि 1993 के मुंबई बम धमाकों का कड़वा अनुभव होने (तब भी समुद्री मार्ग से ही विस्फोटक मुंबई पहुंचाए गए थे) और बेंगलुरु , अहमदाबाद , दिल्ली जैसे शहरों में हुए बम धमाकों के बाद मुंबई में ऐसे किसी हमले की आशंका होने के कारण कस्टम्स अधिकारी महसूस कर रहे थे कि उन्हें और अलर्ट होकर काम करना चाहिए। लेकिन , इस आदेश ने उनके हाथ-पांव बांध रखे थे।
बताया जाता है कि यह आदेश कुछ कस्टम्स अधिकारियों की हरकतों पर रोक लगाने के लिए लाया गया था जो जांच-पड़ताल के नाम पर हर कंटेनर या वाहन को रोक देते थे और पैसे वसूल करके ही उसे छोड़ते थे। लेकिन इसने विभाग के उन अधिकारियों को भी अपना काम करने से रोक दिया जो टूटी-फूटी पुरानी बोटें और पेट्रॉल की कमी जैसी बाधाओं के बावजूद अपनी सक्रियता कम नहीं होने दे रहे थे।
इस लिखित आदेश का नतीजा यह निकला कि कस्टम्स विभाग के प्रिवेंटिव विंग की देखरेख में चलने वाला तटीय क्षेत्रों की निगरानी का काम लगभग ठप हो गया। इस आदेश ने वाहनों की चेकिंग ही नहीं , गश्त के काम पर भी असर डाला था। आदेश के अनुसार अफसरों को किसी वाहन की तलाशी से पहले डीआरआई-1 (डाइरेक्टरेट ऑफ रेवेन्यू इंटेलिजेंस प्रिसक्राइब्ड फॉर्म) भरना जरूरी हो गया था। जानकारों के मुताबिक इस जटिल प्रक्रिया को पूरा करने में तीन से चार दिन लग जाते हैं।
यानी अब कस्टम्स अधिकारियों के लिए यह संभव नहीं था कि गश्त के दौरान संदेह होने पर किसी बोट या कंटेनर की तलाशी ले सकें। इसका नतीजा यह हुआ कि तलाशी ही नहीं , गश्त का काम भी लगभग ठप हो गया।
हम यह नहीं कह रहे कि यह आदेश आतंकवादियों को विस्फोटक और हथियार भारत में पहुंचाने में मदद देने के लिए जारी किया गया था। लेकिन इसमें कोई संदेह नहीं कि कस्टम्स विभाग के इस आदेश ने आतंकवादियों का काम आसान बना दिया। बेहतर यह होता कि कस्टम्स विभाग में व्याप्त भ्रष्टाचार को रोकने के लिए कोई और कदम उठाया जाता।
इस आदेश के बारे में कस्टम्स कमिश्नर (प्रिवेंटिव) शोभा राम का पक्ष जानने के लिए उनके घर फोन करने पर बताया गया कि वह शहर से बाहर हैं। घर वालों ने मोबाइल नंबर देने से इनकार कर दिया।
Confessions of a dangerous mind
This is the statement Mohammad Ajmal Amir 'Kasab', 21, gave to the police after his arrest.
I have resided in Faridkot, Dinalpur tehsil, Ukada district, Suba Punjab state, Pakistan since my birth. I studied up to class IV in a government school. After leaving school in 2000, I went to stay with my brother in Tohit Abad mohalla, near Yadgar Minar in Lahore. I worked as a labourer at various places till 2005, visiting my native once in a while. In 2005, I had a quarrel with my father. I left home and went to Ali Hajveri Darbar in Lahore, where boys who run away from home are given shelter. The boys are sent to different places for employment.
One day a person named Shafiq came there and took me with him. He was from Zhelam and had a catering business. I started working for him for Rs120 per day. Later, my salary was increased to Rs200 per day. I worked with him till 2007. While working with Shafiq, I came in contact with one Muzzafar Lal Khan, 22. He was from Romaiya village in Alak district in Sarhad, Pakistan. Since we were not getting enough money, we decided to carry out robbery/dacoity to make big money. So we left the job.
We went to Rawalpindi, where we rented a flat. Afzal had located a house for us to loot… We required some firearms for our mission... While we were in search of firearms, we saw some LeT stalls at Raja Bazaar in Rawalpindi on the day of Bakri-id. We then realised that even if we procured firearms, we would not be able to operate them. Therefore, we decided to join LeT for weapons training.
We reached the LeT office and told a person that we wanted to join LeT. He noted down our names and address and told us to come the next day. The next day, there was another person with him. He gave us Rs200 and some receipts. Then he gave us the address of a place called Marqas Taiyyaba, Muridke, and told us to go to there. It was an LeT training camp. We went to the place by bus. We showed the receipts at the gate of the camp. We were allowed inside… Then we were taken to the actual camp area. Initially, we were selected for a 21 days' training regimen called Daura Sufa.
From the next day, our training started.
The daily programme was as follows: 4.15 am — Wake-up call and thereafter Namaz; 8 am — Breakfast; 8.30 am to 10 am — Lecture on Hadis and Quran by Mufti Sayyed; 10 am to noon - Rest; Noon to 1 pm - Lunch break; 1 pm to 4 pm - Rest; 4 pm to 6 pm - PT; instructor: Fadulla; 6 pm to 8 pm - Namaz and other work; 8 pm to 9 pm - Dinner
After Daura Sufa, we were selected for another training programme called Daura Ama. This was also for 21 days. We were taken to Mansera in Buttal village, where we were trained in handling weapons.
The daily programme was as follows: 4.15 am to 5 am - Wake-up call and thereafter Namaz; 5 am to 6 am - PT; instructor: Abu Anas; 8 am - Breakfast; 8.30 am to 11.30 am - Weapons training; trainer: Abdul Rehman; weapons: AK-47, Green-O, SKS, Uzi gun, pistol, revolver; 11.30 am to Noon - rest; Noon to 1 pm - Lunch break; 1 pm to 2 pm - Namaz; 2 pm to 4 pm - Rest; 4 pm to 6 pm - PT; 6 pm to 8 pm - Namaz and other work; 8 pm to 9 pm - Dinner.
After the training, we were told that we will begin the next stage involving advanced training. But for that, we were told, we had to do some khidmat for two months (khidmat is a sort of service in the camp as per trainees' liking). We agreed. After two months, I was allowed to go to meet my parents. I stayed with my parents for a month.
Then I went to an LeT camp in Shaiwainala, Muzaffarabad, for advanced training...
We were taken to Chelabandi pahadi area for a training programme, called Daura Khas, of three months. It involved handling weapons, using hand grenade, rocket launchers and mortars.
The daily programme was as follows: 4.15 am to 5 am - Wake-up call and thereafter Namaz; 5 am to 6 am - PT; instructor: Abu Mawiya; 8 am - Breakfast; 8.30 am to 11.30 am - Weapons training, handling of all weapons and firing practices with the weapons, training on handling hand grenade, rocket-launchers and mortars, Green-O, SKS, Uzi gun, pistol, revolver; trainer: Abu Mawiya; 11.30 am to 12 noon - rest; Noon to 1 pm - Lunch break; 1 pm to 2 pm - Namaz; 2 pm to 4 pm - Weapons training and firing practice; lecture on Indian security agencies; 4 pm to 6 pm - PT; 6 pm to 8 pm - Namaz and other work; 8 pm to 9 pm - Dinner.
There were 32 trainees in the camp. Sixteen were selected for a confidential operation by one Zaki-ur-Rehman, alias Chacha, but three of them ran away from the camp.
Chacha sent the remaining 13 with a person called Kafa to the Muridke camp again.
At Muridke, we were taught swimming and made familiar with the life of fishermen at sea… We were given lectures on the working of Indian security agencies. We were shown clippings highlighting atrocities on Muslims in India. After the training, we were allowed to go to our native places. I stayed with my family for seven days. I then went to the LeT camp at Muzaffarabad. The 13 of us were present for training.
Then, on Zaki-ur-Rehman's instructions, Kafa took us to the Muridke camp. The training continued for a month. We were given lectures on India and its security agencies, including RAW. We were also trained to evade security personnel. We were instructed not to make phone calls to Pakistan after reaching India.
The names of the persons present for the training are: n Mohd Azmal, alias Abu Muzahid n Ismail, alias Abu Umar n Abu Ali n Abu Aksha n Abu Umer n Abu Shoeb n Abdul Rehman (Bada) n Abdul Rehman (Chhota) n Afadulla n Abu Umar
After the training, Chacha selected 10 of us and formed five teams of two people each on September 15. I and Ismail formed a team; its codename was VTS. We were shown Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Google Earth's site on the internet… We were shown a film on VT railway station. The film showed commuters during rush hours. We were instructed to carry out firing during rush hours — between 7 am and 11 am and between 7 pm and 11 pm. Then we were to take some people hostage, take them to the roof of some nearby building and contact Chacha, who would have given us numbers to contact media people and make demands. This was the strategy decided upon by our trainers. The date fixed for the operation was September 27. However, the operation was cancelled for some reason. We stayed in Karachi till November 23.
The other teams were: 2nd team: a) Abu Aksha; b) Abu Umar; 3rd team: a) Abdul Rehman (Bada); b) Abu Ali; 4th team: a) Abdul Rehman (Chotta); b) Afadulla; 5th team: a) Abu Shoeb; b) Abu Umer.
On November 23, the teams left from Azizabad in Karachi, along with Zaki-ur-Rehman and Kafa. We were taken to the nearby seashore… We boarded a launch. After travelling for 22 to 25 nautical miles we boarded a bigger launch. Again, after a journey of an hour, we boarded a ship, Al-Huseini, in the deep sea. While boarding the ship, each of us was given a sack containing eight grenades, an AK-47 rifle, 200 cartridges, two magazines and a cellphone.
Then we started towards the Indian coast. When we reached Indian waters, the crew members of Al-Huseini hijacked an Indian launch. The crew of the launch was shifted to Al-Huseini. We then boarded the launch. An Indian seaman was made to accompany us at gunpoint; he was made to bring us to the Indian coast. After a journey of three days, we reached near Mumbai's shore. While we were still some distance away from the shore, Ismail and Afadulla killed the Indian seaman (Tandel) in the basement of the launch. Then we boarded an inflatable dinghy and reached Badhwar Park jetty.
I then went along with Ismail to VT station by taxi. After reaching the hall of the station, we went to the toilet, took out the weapons from our sacks, loaded them, came out of the toilet and started firing indiscriminately at passengers. Suddenly, a police officer opened fire at us. We threw hand grenades towards him and also opened fire at him.
Then we went inside the railway station threatening the commuters and randomly firing at them. We then came out of the railway station searching for a building with a roof.
But we did not find one. Therefore, we entered a lane. We entered a building and went upstairs. On the third and fourth floors we searched for hostages but we found that the building was a hospital and not a residential building. We started to come down. That is when policemen started firing at us. We threw grenades at them.
While coming out of the hospital premises, we saw a police vehicle passing. We took shelter behind a bush. Another vehicle passed us and stopped some distance away. A police officer got off from the vehicle and started firing at us. A bullet hit my hand and my AK-47 fell out of my hand. When I bent to pick it up another bullet hit me on the same hand. Ismail opened fire at the officers in the vehicle. They got injured and firing from their side stopped. We waited for a while and went towards the vehicle.
There were three bodies in the vehicle. Ismail removed the bodies and drove the vehicle. I sat next to him. Some policemen tried to stop us. Ismail opened fire at them. The vehicle had a flat tyre near a big ground by the side of road. Ismail got down from the vehicle, stopped a car at gunpoint and removed the three lady passengers from the car. Since I was injured, Ismail carried me to the car. He then drove the car. We were stopped by policemen on the road near the seashore. Ismail fired at them, injuring some policemen. The police also opened fire at us. Ismail was injured in the firing. The police removed us from the vehicle and took us to the same hospital. In the hospital, I came to know that Ismail had succumbed to injuries.
My statement has been read to me and explained in Hindi, and it has been correctly recorded.
I have resided in Faridkot, Dinalpur tehsil, Ukada district, Suba Punjab state, Pakistan since my birth. I studied up to class IV in a government school. After leaving school in 2000, I went to stay with my brother in Tohit Abad mohalla, near Yadgar Minar in Lahore. I worked as a labourer at various places till 2005, visiting my native once in a while. In 2005, I had a quarrel with my father. I left home and went to Ali Hajveri Darbar in Lahore, where boys who run away from home are given shelter. The boys are sent to different places for employment.
One day a person named Shafiq came there and took me with him. He was from Zhelam and had a catering business. I started working for him for Rs120 per day. Later, my salary was increased to Rs200 per day. I worked with him till 2007. While working with Shafiq, I came in contact with one Muzzafar Lal Khan, 22. He was from Romaiya village in Alak district in Sarhad, Pakistan. Since we were not getting enough money, we decided to carry out robbery/dacoity to make big money. So we left the job.
We went to Rawalpindi, where we rented a flat. Afzal had located a house for us to loot… We required some firearms for our mission... While we were in search of firearms, we saw some LeT stalls at Raja Bazaar in Rawalpindi on the day of Bakri-id. We then realised that even if we procured firearms, we would not be able to operate them. Therefore, we decided to join LeT for weapons training.
We reached the LeT office and told a person that we wanted to join LeT. He noted down our names and address and told us to come the next day. The next day, there was another person with him. He gave us Rs200 and some receipts. Then he gave us the address of a place called Marqas Taiyyaba, Muridke, and told us to go to there. It was an LeT training camp. We went to the place by bus. We showed the receipts at the gate of the camp. We were allowed inside… Then we were taken to the actual camp area. Initially, we were selected for a 21 days' training regimen called Daura Sufa.
From the next day, our training started.
The daily programme was as follows: 4.15 am — Wake-up call and thereafter Namaz; 8 am — Breakfast; 8.30 am to 10 am — Lecture on Hadis and Quran by Mufti Sayyed; 10 am to noon - Rest; Noon to 1 pm - Lunch break; 1 pm to 4 pm - Rest; 4 pm to 6 pm - PT; instructor: Fadulla; 6 pm to 8 pm - Namaz and other work; 8 pm to 9 pm - Dinner
After Daura Sufa, we were selected for another training programme called Daura Ama. This was also for 21 days. We were taken to Mansera in Buttal village, where we were trained in handling weapons.
The daily programme was as follows: 4.15 am to 5 am - Wake-up call and thereafter Namaz; 5 am to 6 am - PT; instructor: Abu Anas; 8 am - Breakfast; 8.30 am to 11.30 am - Weapons training; trainer: Abdul Rehman; weapons: AK-47, Green-O, SKS, Uzi gun, pistol, revolver; 11.30 am to Noon - rest; Noon to 1 pm - Lunch break; 1 pm to 2 pm - Namaz; 2 pm to 4 pm - Rest; 4 pm to 6 pm - PT; 6 pm to 8 pm - Namaz and other work; 8 pm to 9 pm - Dinner.
After the training, we were told that we will begin the next stage involving advanced training. But for that, we were told, we had to do some khidmat for two months (khidmat is a sort of service in the camp as per trainees' liking). We agreed. After two months, I was allowed to go to meet my parents. I stayed with my parents for a month.
Then I went to an LeT camp in Shaiwainala, Muzaffarabad, for advanced training...
We were taken to Chelabandi pahadi area for a training programme, called Daura Khas, of three months. It involved handling weapons, using hand grenade, rocket launchers and mortars.
The daily programme was as follows: 4.15 am to 5 am - Wake-up call and thereafter Namaz; 5 am to 6 am - PT; instructor: Abu Mawiya; 8 am - Breakfast; 8.30 am to 11.30 am - Weapons training, handling of all weapons and firing practices with the weapons, training on handling hand grenade, rocket-launchers and mortars, Green-O, SKS, Uzi gun, pistol, revolver; trainer: Abu Mawiya; 11.30 am to 12 noon - rest; Noon to 1 pm - Lunch break; 1 pm to 2 pm - Namaz; 2 pm to 4 pm - Weapons training and firing practice; lecture on Indian security agencies; 4 pm to 6 pm - PT; 6 pm to 8 pm - Namaz and other work; 8 pm to 9 pm - Dinner.
There were 32 trainees in the camp. Sixteen were selected for a confidential operation by one Zaki-ur-Rehman, alias Chacha, but three of them ran away from the camp.
Chacha sent the remaining 13 with a person called Kafa to the Muridke camp again.
At Muridke, we were taught swimming and made familiar with the life of fishermen at sea… We were given lectures on the working of Indian security agencies. We were shown clippings highlighting atrocities on Muslims in India. After the training, we were allowed to go to our native places. I stayed with my family for seven days. I then went to the LeT camp at Muzaffarabad. The 13 of us were present for training.
Then, on Zaki-ur-Rehman's instructions, Kafa took us to the Muridke camp. The training continued for a month. We were given lectures on India and its security agencies, including RAW. We were also trained to evade security personnel. We were instructed not to make phone calls to Pakistan after reaching India.
The names of the persons present for the training are: n Mohd Azmal, alias Abu Muzahid n Ismail, alias Abu Umar n Abu Ali n Abu Aksha n Abu Umer n Abu Shoeb n Abdul Rehman (Bada) n Abdul Rehman (Chhota) n Afadulla n Abu Umar
After the training, Chacha selected 10 of us and formed five teams of two people each on September 15. I and Ismail formed a team; its codename was VTS. We were shown Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Google Earth's site on the internet… We were shown a film on VT railway station. The film showed commuters during rush hours. We were instructed to carry out firing during rush hours — between 7 am and 11 am and between 7 pm and 11 pm. Then we were to take some people hostage, take them to the roof of some nearby building and contact Chacha, who would have given us numbers to contact media people and make demands. This was the strategy decided upon by our trainers. The date fixed for the operation was September 27. However, the operation was cancelled for some reason. We stayed in Karachi till November 23.
The other teams were: 2nd team: a) Abu Aksha; b) Abu Umar; 3rd team: a) Abdul Rehman (Bada); b) Abu Ali; 4th team: a) Abdul Rehman (Chotta); b) Afadulla; 5th team: a) Abu Shoeb; b) Abu Umer.
On November 23, the teams left from Azizabad in Karachi, along with Zaki-ur-Rehman and Kafa. We were taken to the nearby seashore… We boarded a launch. After travelling for 22 to 25 nautical miles we boarded a bigger launch. Again, after a journey of an hour, we boarded a ship, Al-Huseini, in the deep sea. While boarding the ship, each of us was given a sack containing eight grenades, an AK-47 rifle, 200 cartridges, two magazines and a cellphone.
Then we started towards the Indian coast. When we reached Indian waters, the crew members of Al-Huseini hijacked an Indian launch. The crew of the launch was shifted to Al-Huseini. We then boarded the launch. An Indian seaman was made to accompany us at gunpoint; he was made to bring us to the Indian coast. After a journey of three days, we reached near Mumbai's shore. While we were still some distance away from the shore, Ismail and Afadulla killed the Indian seaman (Tandel) in the basement of the launch. Then we boarded an inflatable dinghy and reached Badhwar Park jetty.
I then went along with Ismail to VT station by taxi. After reaching the hall of the station, we went to the toilet, took out the weapons from our sacks, loaded them, came out of the toilet and started firing indiscriminately at passengers. Suddenly, a police officer opened fire at us. We threw hand grenades towards him and also opened fire at him.
Then we went inside the railway station threatening the commuters and randomly firing at them. We then came out of the railway station searching for a building with a roof.
But we did not find one. Therefore, we entered a lane. We entered a building and went upstairs. On the third and fourth floors we searched for hostages but we found that the building was a hospital and not a residential building. We started to come down. That is when policemen started firing at us. We threw grenades at them.
While coming out of the hospital premises, we saw a police vehicle passing. We took shelter behind a bush. Another vehicle passed us and stopped some distance away. A police officer got off from the vehicle and started firing at us. A bullet hit my hand and my AK-47 fell out of my hand. When I bent to pick it up another bullet hit me on the same hand. Ismail opened fire at the officers in the vehicle. They got injured and firing from their side stopped. We waited for a while and went towards the vehicle.
There were three bodies in the vehicle. Ismail removed the bodies and drove the vehicle. I sat next to him. Some policemen tried to stop us. Ismail opened fire at them. The vehicle had a flat tyre near a big ground by the side of road. Ismail got down from the vehicle, stopped a car at gunpoint and removed the three lady passengers from the car. Since I was injured, Ismail carried me to the car. He then drove the car. We were stopped by policemen on the road near the seashore. Ismail fired at them, injuring some policemen. The police also opened fire at us. Ismail was injured in the firing. The police removed us from the vehicle and took us to the same hospital. In the hospital, I came to know that Ismail had succumbed to injuries.
My statement has been read to me and explained in Hindi, and it has been correctly recorded.
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