Jundal's interrogation uncovers goldmine of information

Sajid Mir is arguably one of the most-guarded figures in the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. According to the Indian and western intelligence agencies, he holds the key to the Lashkar's international operations.

The interrogation of Lashkar terrorist Abu Jundal alias Zabiuddin Ansari has confirmed his presence in the control room in Karachi from where the ghastly 26/11 attacks in Mumbai were orchestrated.

Jundal says that Mir had travelled to India prior to the attacks and surveyed targets that were attacked.

Mir had come to India as a cricket fan -- a story that has been reported earlier -- and under this pretext dished out crucial information for the 26/11 attack.

Initially, it was claimed that Mir could have been an officer in Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence. But going by his year and date of joining the Lashkar that scenario was ruled out. However, Jundal clarifies that Mir was a crucial operator and was working as an assistant to Lashkar founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed's brother-in-law Abdur Rehman Makki.

Jundal says that he did not come face to face with Mir during the planning, as the latter's role was restricted to handling logistics prior to the attack on 26/11. He, however, confirmed the presence of Mir in the Karachi control room from where he oversaw the initial part of the operation when the terrorists were taking positions at the respective targets allocated to them

Although Jundal does not reveal too much on David Headley, the statements made by him show that Mir guided Headley all through the operation.

Sources point out that the camera, the GPS tracking device and the funding to David Headley was provided by Mir himself.

Sources in the National Investigating Agency say that though the information on Mir is not something very new, it does help the agency build its case in which it has named Mir.

The fact that Jundal confirms Mir's presence during the attack is a leap forward, as Pakistan has always claimed his non-existence.

The mystery of the Majors

Another mystery that investigators are close to cracking is that of Major Samir Ali and Major Iqbal.

Based on Headley's confessions, Interrogators grilled Jundal about the involvement of the two Pakistani officers in the 26/11 operation.

He does not confirm the names, but does say that there were two persons in the control room who were often referred to as Major General sahib.

There are no photographs available with the Indian agencies to put before Jundal in order to prove this theory of the presence of Majors. However, we will have to deal with the statements and put the evidence together in order to come a proper conclusion on these officers, the investigators point out.

The role of Zarar Shah

Jundal also throws light in the presence of Lashkar commander Zarar Shah in the control room.

According to interrogators, Shah played a vital role in communications. He was the one who set up the Voice over Internet Protocol unit in the control room. In addition to this there were televisions tuned into Indian channels through which the team picked up a lot of information.

Jundal says that when the attack began the first intention was to cause a diversion. The mail claiming that the attack was the handiwork of the Deccan Mujahideen was also sent from the very same control room by bouncing it off another server.