Confusion prevails over status of Mumbai suspects in Pak

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, Feb 17 (PTI) The status and whereabouts of at
least five main Pakistani suspects linked to the Mumbai
attacks remain a mystery, with an anti-terrorism judge
remanding only one accused to the custody of the Federal
Investigation Agency.

Anti-terrorism court Judge Sakhi Muhammad Kahut Monday
remanded Hamad Amin Sadiq, a Lashker-e-Taiba activist
described by Pakistani authorities as the "main operator"
behind the Mumbai incident, to the custody of the FIA for 15
days.

There was no official word on the status and whereabouts
of five other suspects, who the interior ministry chief Rehman
Malik had said were in the custody of authorities.

Though Malik had not named these suspects during a news
conference last week, sources told PTI they included senior
LeT operatives Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah, who have
reportedly been named in the Indian dossier submitted to
Islamabad.

Sadiq was remanded to the FIA's custody by Judge Kahut
during proceedings held in a makeshift court set up in the
high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

Sadiq was brought to the prison in an armoured vehicle
and his face was covered with a mask. The media was not
allowed to photograph him.

In its First Information Report, the FIA filed charges
against Sadiq under the Anti-Terrorism Act, Pakistan Penal
Code and Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance.

FIA Inspector Zahid Akhtar and special public prosecutor
Chaudhry Zulfiqar told the judge that authorities wanted
information about Sadiq's accomplices involved in the Mumbai
incident.

The officials told the judge that Sadiq was an active
member of the LeT and was accused of facilitating and abetting
the Mumbai attacks in collusion with other suspects.

Official documents presented in court said Sadiq, who
hails from Rahim Yar Khan in southern Punjab province, was
arrested in Faizabad area of Rawalpindi on Sunday.

However, interior ministry chief Malik had said during
his news conference that Sadiq was arrested much earlier in
Karachi.

Media reports on Saturday had said that an anti-terror
court had remanded at least six suspects to the custody of the
FIA. Judge Kahut has taken exception to these reports and told
reporters his court could issue a legal notice in this regard.

Diplomatic sources indicated that Pakistani authorities
were deliberately being vague about the status of the suspects
due to security concerns and ongoing investigations aimed at
uncovering more details about the planning of the Mumbai
attacks.

The sources also said Western diplomats, including those
from the US, had been told by Pakistani authorities that the
suspects would be brought to trial in an anti-terror court.

The authorities kept the media guessing about the
presentation of the suspects in court on Friday and Saturday
before finally producing Sadiq before the judge in the
makeshift court within Adiala Jail Monday.

Though a special cell has been arranged at Adiala Jail
for the suspects, prison Deputy Superintendent Muhammad Feroze
Kilyal said they had not been brought there.

FIA officials and the interior ministry spokesman have
declined to comment on the status of the suspects and the
probe into the Mumbai attacks, saying they had been directed
by their seniors not to speak to the media on these issues.

Pakistan last week filed formal charges against nine
suspects linked to the Mumbai attacks, including Ajmal Amir
Kasab, the lone terrorist captured in India.

Interior ministry chief Malik said six of the suspects
are in the custody of Pakistani authorities while two others
had been identified but were still at large. PTI