26/11 attackers belonged to LeT, says Pakistan

Pakistani investigators have corroborated the statement made by Ajmal Kasab, the lone gunman arrested in Mumbai, even as they concluded that almost all terrorists involved in the 26/11 attack belonged to LeT and there is "sufficient evidence" to prosecute them.

The report which was presented to the anti-terror court conducting the trial of seven accused, including LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi states that there is "sufficient incriminating evidence on record against those arrested for orchestrating the Mumbai attacks."

The report said evidence collected by Pakistani investigators had corroborated the statement made by Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone attacker arrested in Mumbai.

Pakistani prosecutors and investigators have also categorically stated in the report that almost all the accused belong to the Lashkar-e-Taiba and that the attacks in November 2008 were masterminded by Lakhvi, Dawn News reported today.

The report, a copy of which was accessed by the channel, said: "The joint investigation team headed by the Director of the Special Investigation Group of the Federal Investigation Agency has scrutinised the entire evidence collected during the inquiry." It also collected evidence "during the investigation and has unanimously agreed that substantial incriminating evidence is available on the record directly connecting all the accused persons with the commission of the offence."

It further said: "The accused in active connivance of one another planned, trained, aided, abetted and made preparations to carry out deadly terror attacks in Mumbai on November 26 to 28, 2008, through their co-accused, causing the murder of 166 innocent persons and injury to 304 persons, besides destruction of property in crores of rupees."

The 61-page report, which was compiled by a team of experts led by FIA officials, was presented to the anti-terror court in Rawalpindi in July last year. It contains the photographs of all the accused, including those who are still at large and have been declared "proclaimed offenders."

Those who are still at large include crew members of the Al-Fauz and Hussaini, the two boats used by the ten terrorists who attacked India's financial hub.

The report also contains a list of 150 documents and items of evidence, including proof and information provided by India. Investigators had also corroborated Kasab's statement about his family and his native village of Faridkot in Pakistan's Punjab province by collecting records from his school and local voters' list.

The report concluded that all the accused should be convicted because there is sufficient incriminating evidence against them. Diplomatic sources told PTI that the report made public by the news channel did not contain any information that was not included in the dossiers provided by Islamabad to New Delhi.