Pak establishment's mounting terror role

Sabahuddin Ahmed, an accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, in his confession has laid down in detail how the Pakistan establishment helped him and several other operatives get a safe passage into and out of Pakistan.

Even in the recent terror dossier that was handed over to Pakistan, there is a mention of a Pakistani major named Iqbal, who is alleged to have helped the terrorists during the Mumbai attacks.

The latest is Colonel Ahmed, who is said to be a key person helping operatives from India gather logistics for terror attacks. This was revealed by Ahmed Khwaja, a Lashkar-e-Tayiba militant, currently in the custody of the Hyderabad police.

Khwaja, who had started off with the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, was later asked to work with the Indian Mujahideen, and in this regard he traveled across the border.

Intelligence Bureau sources pointed out to rediff.com that Colonel Ahmed is one among the many army officials working for the Inter Services Intelligence who are involved in the terror network.

"We have said several times in the past that nothing is really possible without the patronage of the Pakistan establishment," they added.

Colonel Ahmed could be a pseudo name, the IB sources point out, 'but we are sure that he is still serving in the ISI and has not retired yet.'

"It appears that he was part of the network which was helping the Indian Mujahideen. The ISI is also divided into various groups and there are dedicated units to cater to each group," they also said.

"Colonel Ahmed according to agencies was catering to the Indian Mujahideen. Our intercepts would suggest that he has had a lot of interaction with Amir Reza Khan, who is the chief of the IM. Like the Lashkar, the IM too has a separate team of ISI officials and army personnel who work along with the outfit. The ones at the rank of major deal more with the training aspect of these terrorists, while colonels are more involved in logistics and also ensuring safe passage of these terrorists," sources revealed.

Sources also said that the role of Colonel Ahmed was more at the border. Once recruits manage to sneak into Pakistan, these colonels are waiting at the border to greet them. Colonel Ahmed took complete charge of Khwaja and his other accomplices.

IB officials, who are interrogating Khwaja, told rediff.com that he revealed that Colonel Ahmed was the main link between him and the rest of the people handling the IM. The day he landed in Pakistan, he was taken away by the colonel to a place called Forward Kahota.

FK is where operatives coming to Pakistan for the first time are lodged. Following this their names are registered. A pass is handed over to them and then the colonel accompanies them into a place called as Qadisa, or a safe house.

The job of the colonel does not end here. He accompanies these recruits to all the meetings of the bigwigs and also introduces them to the senior officials, who discuss future strategies.

Khwaja said that the colonel remained with him through his visit to Pakistan and had even accompanied him to the border before he left the country.

However the IB sources points out that there are many other army officials in Pakistan who are present with the new team that arrives there.

Khwaja points out that security for militants is extremely tight at all times. He told the interrogators that once they reach Pakistan and then are taken to Karachi, it is mandatory that they are put up in an area called Police Lines, where the police headquarters is situated. This is largely due to the fact that this area is heavily guarded.

Khwaja also stated that there is a heavy military presence around the Bilal mosque in Karachi, where all the militants offer prayers.