Facing heat from FATF, 26/11 planner Sajid Mir who was a myth becomes a reality in Pakistan

New Delhi, Jun 25: Pakistan denied his existence at first and when the pressure increased, they said he was not a handler but a Mullah. The man is Sajid Mir who Pakistan claims to have arrested.

Mir was David Headley's handler who carried out the reconnaissance of Mumbai prior to the attacks of 26/11. An ISI asset, Mir carries an FBI bounty of $5 million on his head. In arresting Mir, Pakistan has once again displayed that it is all so predictable and the action comes at a time when the cash strapped nation is trying to wriggle out of the Grey List of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Pakistan has denied the very existence of Mir to such an extent that one had wondered whether the man was a myth.

The Intelligence files indicate clearly that Mir was the most important person in the 26/11 attacks. Until 2020, Pakistan denied the existence of this man. An Intelligence Bureau official tells OneIndia that Mir was working with the ISI before he was tasked the job of organising and overseeing the attacks of 26/11.

When Mir's name cropped up for the first time, Pakistan denied his involvement. In fact Islamabad spun a theory that the man being referred was a case of mistaken identity. Pakistan said that Mir was not part of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, but is a Muslim cleric.

The Intelligence files also show that he was withdrawn of all duties post the attack. The Indian Intelligence also managed to track his addresses to Rawalpindi and Lahore.

Mir, who has been given seven tier security was more or less a myth for long as the information on him was highly guarded by the ISI. Mir is a top player in the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. He has been called as an international terrorist as he has carried out operations in different parts of the world including France.

Prior to the 26/11 attack, he had visited India as a cricket fan. It is believed he was here to study the targets that the Lashkar-e-Tayiba was planning to hit on November 26 2008.

The 1976 born terrorist, Mir was initially holed up at Murdike as per the intelligence provided to India by the Mossad. Now his home is the near the Ganda Nala lane in Lahore Pakistan which is very close to Murdike which also happens to be one of the main base camps of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba.

No amount of surveillance done by the Indian agencies was able to track this man down. However it was the Mossad agents who had provided India with ample information and his movement and it was found that he had moved into the Muridke camp of the Lashkar.