The anti-India syllabus in a Pakistan Madrasa

India was part of Pakistan before 1947.

In the 1965 war, Pakistan conquered several areas of India and staring at a certain defeat, New Delhi [Images] requested the United Nations to arrange for a ceasefire.

During the 1971 war, the Pakistan Army [Images] demonstrated great courage and valour and inflicted humiliating blows on the Indian forces on both the Eastern and Western fronts.”

This excerpts may puzzle you, but according to some madrasas in Pakistan, it is nothing, but history. Ten year olds in those madrassas are injected with such and more distorted ‘facts’, says a confidential Intelligence Bureau report. 

Photo courtesy: IntelliBriefs

Besides the impressionable minds are further indoctrinated with a textbook called 44 ways to support Jihad, written by Anwar-al-Awalaki.

The IB report, which is based on textbooks from madrasas and the interrogation of several arrested terror suspects including those involved in the Mumbai terror attacks [Images], says that the number of such “anti-India madrasas” is on the rise.

The report says that a typical text book for Class 111 starts with chapters on culture before moving on to subjects like the wars with India.

With the context set, and India painted as the enemy, the textbooks swiftly move on the importance of jihad and martyrdom.

The curriculum also lays a bit of emphasis on English. A chapter teaches the letters of the alphabet with examples like: B for bandook, k for knife, R for rocket, T for tank, and S for sword.

Studies on these madrassas also show that these outfits glorify violence. Even the games the kids play involve shooting practice with air guns and war games.

On culture and history, the textbooks, which are not available in the market and are distributed directly in the madrassas mostly run by the Jammat-ud-Dawa, teach how Muslim saints reformed Hindus and helped abolish their superstition and wrong practices.

A chapter on Muhammad Ali Jinnah states that he saved Muslims from being enslaved by the Hindu Congress party, which encouraged slavery.

A select group of children from these madrassas are then inducted into terror outfits like the Lashkar-e-Tayiba [Images], whose group of children is called the ‘White Falcons’, which begins grooming children for jihad right from when they are 10.

The report says that there are around 6,000 madrasas in Pakistan, most of which, an official said, are rooted in such a culture of hate.

“At least half of the madrassas in Pakistan adopt the Lashkar’s curriculum and at present there are around 5,83,000 students studying in such madrassas.”

“Though most students are from Pakistan, there are also around 16,000 Afghan children and some 18,000 foreign students,” the official said.

The report says that outfits like the LeT are very choosy about the induction into such schools.

“They pick and chose children from very poor families. Till, the education is complete, they are taken care of and the families are given some money each month,” the officer said.

The report says that some students realise that they are unfit to take up any vocation after a stint in these schools and by the time they reach Class X decide to join other legitimate madrassas which also teach mathematics, science, medicine and other subjects.

Who is the FBI looking for?

The Federal Bureau of Investigation team, which has sought access to all the 26/11 accused arrested by Pakistan, will try to cull more information about a key Lashkar-e-Tayiba [Images] operative called Yusuf Muzzamil. Muzzamil’s role in the terror attack in Mumbai [Images] last November was revealed by Fahim Ansari, Sabahuddin, and Ajmal Kasab [Images], sources in the Intelligence Bureau told rediff.com. While Ansari is the prime accused in the attack on the Central Reserve Police Force camp in Rampur in Uttar Pradesh [Images], Sabahuddin is the chief of the LeT’s Nepal unit and Kasab is the lone terrorist arrested during the terror siege on Mumbai. They described Muzzamil as a being extremely tech-savvy, adding that he had pointed out possible terror targets using Google Earth, supported by reconnaissance conducted by Ansari. Kasab told interrogators that he had been reporting to Muzzamil during his training. According to IB sources, Muzzamil emerged as a key operative for the LeT after the death of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami operative Shahid Bilal, one of India’s most wanted fugitives. Threatened by Bilal’s growing clout, Muzzamil decided to eliminate him, claim IB sources. The FBI team in Pakistan has enough proof to substantiate their allegations against Muzzamil, and they will interrogate the 26/11 accused held there to elicit more information, say sources. IB officials believe that Muzzamil is the terrorist in charge of LeT operations in India. Transcripts from a satellite phone found on the M V Kuber, the fishing trawler hijacked by the terrorists to travel to Mumbai, indicates that he was constantly in touch with the ten men.

Chargesheet by Feb 25

The chargesheet in the 26/11 case which will be filed before February 25, is expected to be over 10,000 pages and will have the statements of nearly 200 eyewitnesses, according to sources in the Mumbai [Images] police.

The Mumbai police are giving finishing touches to the chargesheet and want to ensure that it is filed before February 25, since the 90-day period of Ajmal Kasab’s [Images] remand ends that day. The Code of Criminal Procedure states that a chargehsheet should be filed in 90 days.

The chargesheet into the biggest ever terror attack on Indian soil is expected to be very similar in content to the dossier that was sent to Pakistan in January. The charghesheet will contain details of all the attacks that took place in Mumbai apart from how the conspiracy was hatched.

While Ajmal Kasab will be named as the prime accused in the case, the names of the conspirators too would be mentioned in the chargesheet, sources told rediff.com. The chargesheet will make a specific mention of how the entire attack was planned in Pakistan.

The chargesheet will find a mention of seven Pakistanis who were directly behind the attack. The names of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Javed Iqbal, Abu Hamza, Yusuf Muzzamil, Zarar Shah, Kaafa and Abu Qama will be mentioned in the chargesheet as conspirators. Apart from this the names of Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin the men who conducted and helped conduct a recee of Mumbai will be mentioned in the chargesheet. The accused persons will be charged under the provisions of the Customs Act, Indian Penal Code and the Cyber Crime Act.

The chargesheet will contain details of the CCTV footage obtained during the attacks and also the statements of nearly 200 eyewitnesses. In order to make the case much stronger, the Mumbai police will also include details provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding the details pertaining to the Voice over Internet Protocol which was used  by the handlers in Pakistan at the time of the attack. Apart from this the statement of Kasab recorded before the Magistrate will also form part of the chargesheet.

Although Kasab had made a confessional statement providing all details, the Mumbai police sought to get him to confess before the magistrate on Wednesday and Saturday last to ensure that there was more legal sanctity attached to the confession.

A new plot to kill Kasab

Intelligence Bureau officials have picked up fresh inputs which suggest a new plot to kill Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving gunman from the Mumbai [Images] 26/11 attacks, who is currently in the custody of the Mumbai police.

This is the second time that the IB is picking up an intercept which suggests that the Lashkar-e-Tayiba [Images] is planning to kill Kasab. The intercept suggests that a team of six persons are being sent to Mumbai from Pakistan to carry out the operation.

IB sources told rediff.com that the entire operation is being overseen by a Lashkar operative named Altaf, operating out of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The Research and Analysis Wing had previously intercepted a telephonic conversation which described a plot to kill Kasab. The conversation made it clear that the Lashkar would use Dawood Ibrahim to carry out this opearation.

The IB says that this time too the Lashkar would use the services of Dawood as they depend on him for logistical support.

Pink Chaddi yellow buddy!

The guns the Lashkar uses

The confessions of Sabahuddin, an accused in the 26/11 Mumbai [Images] attacks and other terror cases in  the country, indicate that the Lashkar-e-Tayiba [Images] has been improvising its techniques constantly and terrorists are trained to use 20 different guns. The list of guns used during the training process is only an indication that the Lashkar ensures that the fidayeen attackers have similar training to special foces of some countries.

Investigating officers told rediff.com that Sabahuddin had named the guns that the LeT trained its cadres.

They were:

The AK series: AK-47, AK-56, Ak-74, the most common gun used by terrorists,

Light Machine Guns like the RPD (Russian Degtyaryov LMG),

Heavy Machine Guns like the Grinove Pika, the G-2 used by the Indian Army [Images], G 3 used by the Pakistan Army [Images],

Rifles the .303 rifle (referred to as danda by the Lashkar) and American M-16 rifle,

Pistols like the Mauser and Tokarev, the 7.62 mm Nagant and 9 mm Makarov pistol,

Rocker Propelled Grenade launchers like the  RPG2 and RPG7,

60mm, 90mm and 120mm mortars,

Sinper rifles  like the Draganov and also on anti aircraft guns.

Sabahuddin states that apart from training in the use of these guns, they were also trained extensively to use hand grenades, shells, landmines, anti-tank mines and Claymore mines.

Intelligence Bureau officials say that the Lashkar has been procuring sophisticated weapons over the years. They realise that their war is not only against the police personnel, but they are now looking to take on the army and the attack on Mumbai was only an indication of their intent.

Sabahuddin says that the Lashkar keeps introducing new weapons for its training courses on a regular basis. Security agencies say that a constant tab is kept on the new weapons that are being used by any army that the Lashkar plans to take on. The ISI gathers most of the details regarding the weapons programme of that army and passes it on to the Lashkar.

Lashkar’s global Jihad

The terror attacks on Mumbai [Images] were merely a dress rehearsal for the Lashkar-e-Tayiba [Images], which is planning to unleash a global wave of terror.
Investigations into the November attack, conducted by he Mumbai police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Intelligence Bureau, have revealed the LeT’s global plans.

Sabahuddin, chief of the LeT’s Nepal unit and a co-accused in the 26/11 attack, has told interrogators that the Lashkar cadres were instructed to be prepared for terror strikes across the world.

Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi

Sabahuddin’s statements are backed by the e-mails of LeT leaders Zarar Shah and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, say IB sources.

The Inter Services Intelligence had given the LeT the go-ahead to spread its terror tentacles beyond South Asia, as the Al Qaeda [Images] has restricted its operations to fighting the United States-led forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to Intelligence Bureau sources. The ties between the ISI and Osama bin Laden’s [Images] terror outfit have also weakened after the build-up of American forces in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Zarar Shah’s e-mails, accessed by the FBI, prove that the LeT had zeroed in on 300 tragets across the world. Twenty of these targets are located in India.

Sabahuddin added that the LeT has already sent its cadres to conduct reconnaissance of these places and would strike when the time is right.

But IB officials have warned that in spite of the LeT’s global plans, India will continue to be the terror outfit’s prime target.

FBI proof will speed up 26/11 charghesheet

The Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the United States has come in handy for India with the investigating agencies of both countries sharing crucial evidence regarding Pakistan’s involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai [Images] attacks.

Sources in the Mumbai police and Anti Terrorism [Images] Squad told rediff.com that the evidence that has been shared by US investigating agencies is crucial to nail Pakistan’s lie.

Sources also say that the evidence provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation is more or less similar to the one they have gathered. The information shared also includes the interrogation report of Ajmal Kasab [Images], the lone surviving terrorist who is in the custody of the Mumbai police.

However, the most important part of the evidence which the Mumbai police have managed to get is the details of the Voice over Internet Protocol services that were used by the terrorists during the attack. This according to an investigating officer will prove that the entire conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan and not in Bangladesh. The VoIP also gives a clear indication as to how the ten terrorists kept in constant touch with their Lashkar-e-Tayiba [Images] handlers and bosses in Pakistan.

As per the information received from the FBI, it is clear that the payment for the VoIP was made from Karachi.

Apart from this the Mumbai police also have information regarding the satellite phone provider who is based in the Gulf. One of the Lashkar commanders was using a satellite phone of this service provider.

Chargehsheet: With the Mumbai police gathering a lot more evidence in the 26/11 attacks, the charge-sheet in the case is expected in a week. Sources said that the investigating agencies do not want to take any chances while filing the charge-sheet and want to make it fool proof. The charge-sheet would have details of the VoIP, the conversations recorded by the FBI and also the details of FBI investigations on Kasab. The police need clearance from the state and Union government to incorporate sections under the Customs Act and also the section in the Indian Penal Code which deals with waging war against the state. The clearance is expected anytime now.

Who made the bombs?

When the Mumbai [Images] police filed the chargesheet on Tuesday against some members of the Indian Mujahideen [Images], it named Arif as the bomb-maker responsible for the blasts in Bengaluru [Images], Ahmedabad [Images] and Delhi [Images].

However, the Bengaluru police, which arrested several members of the Indian Mujahideen’s Kerala [Images] module, has named Abdul Sattar as the bomb-maker involved with these acts of terror. So what is the confusion all about?
Intelligence Bureau officials say investigators in both cities could be correct since the blasts in Bengaluru, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Delhi were not executed by a single module. Several IM modules, IB sources say, contributed to the blasts that rocked the nation last year.

Subhan. Photo courtesy: Midday

In his confession, Riazudin Nasir, an arrested Lashkar-e-Tayiba [Images] operative, revealed that about 100 activists of the Students Islamic Movement of India and Indian Mujahideen met in Hubli, Karnataka, a year prior to the blasts.

Later, around 50 men, who had learnt bomb-making, gathered at a hotel near the CBT bus stand in Hubli and assembled the bombs. The bombs were then dispatched to the respective modules to carry out the blasts in various cities. Nasir also spoke about a similar meeting in Surat [Images], where more bombs were assembled.

One IM module would focus on assembling the bombs while another module would supply the timer devices. This process was intended to confuse investigators about the sources for the explosives.

Investigating agencies believe that both Arif and Sattar were part of the teams which assembled the bombs for the serial blasts.

The IB says Riyaz Bhatkal and Abdul Subhan supervised the operation from afar, but the handler for the blasts has yet to be identified.

Investigating officers in Bengaluru told rediff.com that following Sattar’s arrest, 50 IM men have been picked up by the police. None of them has revealed the identity of the handler as yet.

What is common between 26/11 and Samjautha

Intelligence Bureau sources said that Pakistan terming the 26/11 Mumbai [Images] attacks and the Samjhauta Express blast as similar in nature is a delaying tactic.

IB officials say that the only similarity in both the cases is that it was masterminded by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba [Images]. Intercepts picked up and investigations conducted in the Samjhauta case point a finger to the Pakistan-based terror outfit.

According to them, Lashkar attacked the train between Pakistan and India because it was upset that growing ties between the two countries may hamper its war in Kashmir. Hence the Lashkar, in coordination with the Inter Services Intelligence, bombed the train in the hope that it would derail the process.

The Lashkar utilised the services Asif Kasmani, who has been declared an international terrorist by the US, to carry out these blasts. Kasmani used to work as a coordinator between the Lashkar and the Al Qaeda [Images] and was based in Pakistan.

Kasmani masterminded the attack and he used a lot of persons from India for the attack. Abdur Rehman was one of the point men for the blast. Rehman held Kasmani arrange for the material to carry out the blasts. Rehman, who had close ties with the Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jihadi-al-Islami, used its help to arrange for the explosives. Rehman was later picked up for his role in the Jaipur [Images] serial blasts.

The IB says the Samjhauta blast and the 26/11 blasts were masterminded by the same persons sitting in Pakistan. IB officials say Kasmani is being sheltered in Pakistan and he is the key to unravelling the conspiracy behind the Samjauta blast.