26/11 Mumbai terror attacks: Who is Amjad Khan?

New Delhi, June 18: The name of a relatively unknown operative of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba came up before a Pakistan court which is hearing the 26/11 attack case. Amjad Khan is a key man in the Lashkar who is accused of facilitating the 26/11 attacks.

According to the prosecution in Pakistan, he was the one who purchased Yamaha engines and the inflatable boats which were used by the ten terrorists who unleashed havoc in Mumbai on the night of 26/11.

Amjad Khan is an absconding accused and it is evident that him being scot free is a bonus for the Lashkar as he has been their behind the scenes operative facilitating several attacks.

Who is Amjad Khan?
Amjad Khan is like a man Friday for the Lashkar. He is the son of Mohammad Siddique and a resident of Multan. Although no real details have been made known to India about the age of Amjad Khan, it is quite clear that he has been part of the outfit for a long time thus making him a trusted lieutenant.

The investigations conducted in India in the aftermath of the 26/11 attack would show that Khan had been part of the plan since day one. There is also information to suggest that Khan was in that control room in Pakistan as the attack was being carried out.

He is considered to be a determined operative and is good when it comes to arrange thing in the run up to an attack. A close aide of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the operations chief of the Lashkar, Khan has helped stage several attacks in Kashmir as well. He also had a role to play in the 2006 train bombings in Mumbai which killed scores of commuters.

What does Pakistan have on Amjad Khan?
The investigations being conducted in Pakistan are clearly not something that they could boast about. It is has been conducted at a snail's pace and the information that they are putting up is clearly not very helpful.

For starters they are putting out very few details on Amjad Khan who was a key player.
Moreover Pakistan has not done enough to nab him and he continues to walk around scot free in Pakistan. There is intelligence to also suggest that he had made a visit to Bangkok recently to facilitate a drug and arms deal for the Lashkar. He has also been accused of raising finances.

Coming back to the 26/11 investigation it has been found that he was in the control room when the attacks were taking place. He kept in touch with the attackers through voice over internet connections and also sattelite phones. Even prior to the attack, Amjad Khan stayed in touch with two other operatives, Raiz and Sadiq.

Khan also got in touch with two other operatives called Anjum and Jamil Ahmed through who he had sourced the sattelite phones. Khan's role in purchasing the motors and the inflatable boats which were used by the attackers is something that the Pakistan investigators have found and submitted to a court yesterday.

Testimony before the Pakistan court:

According to the prosecution in Pakitan, Khan was in touch with a Pakistan company for the purchase of motors. He had purchased 8 Yamaha engines from the company and supplied it to the Lashkar. The same motors were fit on the boats that the terrorists used to reach Mumbai.

The general manager of the company testified in court yesterday that his firm had sold the engines to Amjad Khan. Another testimony before the court was made by a customs official. He told the court that the department issued customs clearance certificate of the engines imported from Japan to Khan after he paid the customs duty.

While there is ample material to prove Amjad Khan's involvement in the attack, his whereabouts continue to remain unknown. India has sent several dossiers to Pakistan on the 26/11 attack and in each of them the name of Khan has been mentioned. Pakistan however claims that it has no clue about his whereabouts.

Oneindia News