Nine Mumbai attackers belonged to Pak Punjab, one to NWFP
Lahore, Jan 16 (ANI): The Indian 'dossier of evidence' provided to Pakistan on the Mumbai terror attacks on November 26 alleges that all 10 gunmen involved in the attacks were Pakistani nationals, nine from the Punjab province and one from the North West Frontier Province.
The Mumbai attackers were in the age group of 21 to 28 years, according to the information in the dossier based on Indian investigation of the attacks and interrogation of the lone surviving gunman Ajmal Kasab, the Daily Times reported.
It said Kasab belonged to Faridkot village in Okara district; eight other gunmen belonged to southern and central Punjab districts and their leader Ismail Khan was from Dera Ismail Khan district of NWFP.
The Punjab residents included three from Okara district Kasab (22), Javed alias Abu Ali (22), and 23-year-old Fahadullah of Kasur Road, Hujra Shahmukeem).
Two belonged to Multan (Babar Imran alias Abu Akasha, 25, and Hafiz Arshad alias Abu Abdar Rehman alias Bada, 23), two from Faisalabad (Nasir alias Abu Umar, 23, and Nazir alias Abu Umer, 28) one from Arifwala in Pakpatan district (Abdul Rehman alias Abu Abdar Rehman alias Chhota, 21) and one from Shakargarh area of Narowal district (Shoaib alias Abu Saheb, 21).
Since the documents do not contain detailed addresses, the uphill task of locating their families has to be carried out by the Pakistani Government.
According to the dossier, Ajmal had disclosed the group consisted of 32 members who were trained at Lashkar-e-Tayyaba camps in Muridke (Punjab), Mansehra (NWFP) and Muzaffarabad (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir).
They were given basic knowledge of firearms, ammunition, grenades and explosives during the training, he told the Indian authorities, including how to handle and use Kalashnikov rifles and 9mm pistols, how to make explosive devices, and how to deal with interrogation and tolerate pain.
They were indoctrinated to become suicide attackers; the paper quoted the dossier, as saying.
Ultimately, 13 of them were selected for the attacks in India, it said, adding six of them were sent to Kashmir and seven joined three new members, one of whom - Ismail Khan was made the commander of the 10-member group.
They were told about the Mumbai attacks in mid-September 2008, the dossier said, after which the group was shifted to Karachi and kept in isolation before their departure in the last week of November. (ANI)