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India-Pakistan
Times of India liveblog
2025-05-11
SUMMARY
India on Saturday accused Pakistan of violating a ceasefire agreement reached earlier the same day between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both nations. Speaking at a late-night press conference, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Indian forces had been directed to give a firm response to any further ceasefire breaches along the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border.

“An understanding was reached this evening between the DGMOs of India and Pakistan to halt the ongoing military action. However, in the last few hours, Pakistan has violated this understanding,” Misri stated. He confirmed that Indian forces were already retaliating against the latest cross-border attack, which he called “extremely condemnable.”

Misri held Pakistan fully accountable for the renewed hostilities and called on Islamabad to immediately put an end to these provocations. “The armed forces are maintaining strict vigilance, and instructions have been issued to deal strongly with any further violations,” he added.

Earlier, Misri had confirmed that both sides agreed to stop all military operations — whether by land, air, or sea — from 5:00 pm IST. But within hours, reports of gunfire emerged from Pakistan’s side in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu and Kashmir, along with sightings of multiple drones near the border.

Tensions between the two countries are at their highest in years, sparked by India’s launch of Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025. Early Friday, powerful explosions shook Jammu city, leading to a complete blackout shortly after Indian forces thwarted Pakistani attempts to hit military targets near the border. Reports suggested that loitering munitions were present in the airspace.

In a similar pattern, loud blasts were heard in the border town of Jaisalmer, while blackouts were enforced across several districts in western Rajasthan bordering Pakistan, throwing entire areas into darkness. A senior official confirmed that explosions continued for nearly an hour.

Several parts of Punjab, Chandigarh, and Haryana — including Panchkula, Ambala, and Sirsa — were also affected by blackouts. These were seen as precautionary steps amid mounting military friction and fears of airstrikes following Operation Sindoor.

The operation itself was launched in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, including 25 Indians and one Nepali national. The strike targeted nine key terror infrastructure sites tied to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), located across both Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Sources said the operation began at 1:05 am and wrapped up by 1:30 am, with follow-up hits reported at 1:44 am. Officials stated that the mission deliberately avoided Pakistani military assets to prevent wider escalation while still delivering a strong counter-terror message.

Key targets included JeM’s base in Bahawalpur and LeT’s hub in Muridke. Other locations hit included sites in Sialkot and Tehra Kalan in Pakistan, and Muzaffarabad and Kotli in PoK. The Indian military described the strikes as "focused, measured, and non-escalatory," exclusively aimed at terror networks. The operation was jointly detailed by Foreign Secretary Misri, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh at a media briefing in New Delhi.

In retaliation, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the strikes as an “act of war,” asserting that Pakistan’s response was already in motion. He declared the full backing of the Pakistani people for their armed forces and warned of further retaliatory action, fuelling fears of a broader conflict.

Back in India, the government defended the move as necessary and justified. At a cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the armed forces for their precision and courage. He expressed satisfaction with the success of the operation and emphasised the need for ongoing alertness.

The conflict has drawn international attention. US President Donald Trump commented on the situation, expressing alarm over the worsening scenario. "It’s so terrible," he said, while noting his strong ties with both India and Pakistan. Trump voiced hope that the two sides could bring the hostilities to an end. "Hopefully they can stop now, as they have gone tit-for-tat," he said, offering to assist with de-escalation if required.


04:17 (IST) May 11
Pakistan violates ceasefire: Firing, drones trigger blackouts in J&K, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat
Shortly after the ceasefire pact between India and Pakistan was announced, multiple ceasefire violations and drone intrusions were reported across the western front, including along the LoC and international border in J&K, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. Firing and drone sightings occurred in Rajouri, Jammu, Akhnoor, R S Pura, Udhampur, and Srinagar, triggering explosions and panic. Nearly 50 drones were reportedly shot down over Srinagar, with similar activity noted in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer and Barmer, and Gujarat’s Kutch.

The violations led to widespread blackouts in border districts to avoid detection of targets, as advised by Indian defence authorities. Local administrations in affected regions enforced night-time blackouts, and residents were urged to remain in bunkers. In response to Pakistani aggression, Indian forces retaliated strongly, causing heavy damage to Pakistan Rangers’ posts and destroying a terror launchpad in Sialkot, PoK.

03:47 (IST) May 11
India-Pakistan Tensions Live: Lashkar’s Muridke HQ chief among 140 terrorists killed in Operation Sindoor
India’s covert Operation Sindoor, carried out on the night of May 6-7, resulted in the elimination of around a dozen top-tier terrorists in Pakistan, including IC-814 hijacker Yusuf Azhar, Lashkar’s Muridke head Abu Jundal alias Mudassar, and the son of the 2016 Nagrota attack planner. Sources confirmed that the strikes, launched in retaliation for the recent Pahalgam massacre, killed an estimated 130-140 terrorists. The operation dealt a severe blow to Pakistan's military-terror nexus, as seen in the high-profile funerals of several terrorists, attended by Pakistani military and political leaders.

Among the key targets was Yusuf Azhar, a long-wanted terrorist with an Interpol Red Notice, and Mudassar, who was given a military-style funeral by Pakistan Army. Lashkar's Abu Akasha and JeM’s Mohammad Hassan Khan were also killed. India’s intelligence claimed to possess video proof of military officials at these funerals, confirming direct links between the Pakistani state and terrorist groups. Two major terror hubs—Muridke and Bahawalpur—were destroyed in the strikes. These facilities had been central to planning and training for attacks like Pulwama (2019) and Nagrota. Officials called Operation Sindoor a clear signal of India’s capability to locate and eliminate high-value targets across the border.

03:19 (IST) May 11
Pakistan shelling kills 2 Army men, an IAF Sergeant and a BSF SI in Jammu
Intensified shelling and drone attacks by Pakistani forces across the Jammu region resulted in the loss of four Indian security personnel. Among the casualties were an Army JCO and a rifleman, an IAF sergeant stationed in Udhampur, and a BSF sub-inspector positioned along the international border in the RS Pura sector.

01:31 (IST) May 11
India-Pakistan Tensions Live: Soldier injured in firing at Nagrota Army station in Jammu, search ops underway to track intruder
An alert sentry at Nagrota Military Station thwarted a potential intrusion, sustaining minor injuries during a brief exchange of fire. Simultaneously, a precautionary blackout was enforced in parts of Punjab. India reported ceasefire violations by Pakistan, responding firmly and maintaining a strong vigil along the border and Line of Control after terrorist attack in Pahalgam.

00:21 (IST) May 11
Loud explosions, red streaks and sirens haunt Jammu and Kashmir, border districts again as Pakistan breaches ceasefire: What we know so far
Despite a newly agreed ceasefire, loud explosions and drone sightings have triggered widespread concern across Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Rajasthan, prompting a complete blackout in several districts. Following the explosions in Srinagar, air defense units were activated, while a firing incident occurred at an Army unit near Jammu. Security forces are investigating the threats as tensions escalate.

00:16 (IST) May 11
Ceasefire violations: India accuses Pakistan, orders strong response to border breaches

India on Saturday held Pakistan responsible for breaching a ceasefire understanding reached earlier in the day between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both countries. Foreign secretary Vikram Misri, addressing a late-night press briefing, said Indian armed forces had been directed to respond firmly to any further violations along the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border.

"An understanding was reached this evening between the DGMOs of India and Pakistan to halt the ongoing military action. However, over the past few hours, Pakistan has breached this understanding," Misri said.

00:11 (IST) May 11
India Pakistan News Live: Nagrota Military Station; Sentry injured in brief gunfire after spotting suspicious movement
A sentry posted at the Nagrota Military Station opened fire after detecting suspicious movement near the perimeter late Friday night, the White Knight Corps said in a statement. Upon issuing a challenge, the sentry was met with retaliatory fire, resulting in a brief exchange.

The sentry sustained a minor injury during the incident but managed to alert security forces immediately. A search operation has since been launched in and around the area to trace the suspected intruder(s).

SUMMARY
India on Saturday blamed Pakistan of breaching a ceasefire understanding reached earlier in the day between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both countries. At a late-night press briefing, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said Indian armed forces had been instructed to respond firmly to any further violations along the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border.

“An understanding was reached this evening between the DGMOs of India and Pakistan to halt the ongoing military action. However, in the last few hours, Pakistan has violated this understanding,” Misri stated. He confirmed that Indian forces were retaliating against the latest cross-border intrusion, which he termed “extremely condemnable.”

Misri said Pakistan bore full responsibility for the latest escalation and urged Islamabad to act immediately to halt the provocations. “The armed forces are maintaining strict vigilance, and instructions have been issued to deal strongly with any further violations,” he added.

Earlier in the day, Misri announced that the DGMOs had agreed to cease all military activity — including on land, air, and sea — starting at 5:00 pm IST. However, just hours later, firing was reported from the Pakistani side in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu and Kashmir, with multiple drone sightings along the border.

On Friday morning, panic gripped parts of Jammu following air-raid sirens and explosions near the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri. The Border Security Force (BSF) also thwarted an infiltration attempt in Samba late Thursday night. Meanwhile, the Indian Army reported shooting down more than 50 swarm drones during several Pakistani attempts to breach defences.

Advanced air defence systems including L-70, Zu-23mm, and Schilka guns were deployed across critical areas such as Udhampur, Jammu, Nagrota, Akhnoor, Samba, and Pathankot. Unverified reports claimed that a Pakistani Air Force jet may have been downed over the Pathankot sector. Two Pakistani drones were also destroyed in the Naushera sector amid intense artillery exchanges.

The Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) confirmed that key Indian military installations in Jammu, Pathankot, and Udhampur were targeted with drones and missiles, all of which were successfully intercepted with no casualties.

Union home minister Amit Shah chaired an emergency meeting with top officials from border forces and CISF to review security across India’s borders and airports.

Internationally, US Vice President JD Vance, who was in India during the Pahalgam terror attack, called the situation a “regional conflict” and said the US would not intervene but would support dialogue. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has been in touch with global leaders, assuring them that India’s response has been “targeted, proportional, and focused on terror infrastructure.”

India strongly rejected Pakistan’s accusation that it targeted the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), warning Islamabad against using such “blatant lies” as pretext for further escalation.

Foreign secretary Misri reiterated that the current crisis was triggered by the Pahalgam attack and said the onus now lay on Pakistan to de-escalate. He also accused Pakistan of running a disinformation campaign.

Pakistan, meanwhile, reportedly launched another round of drone and missile strikes on Thursday night, targeting areas including Satwari, RS Pura, and Arnia. All eight missiles were intercepted. Authorities confirmed the recovery of drone and missile debris from multiple sites, offering clear evidence of the assault.
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India-Pakistan
IS cell busted in Sialkot, claim officials
2015-12-29
LAHORE: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed on Monday that it had busted a cell of the militant Islamic State group operating in Sialkot, arrested eight suspects and seized weapons, explosives and laptops, as well as a large number of compact discs containing publicity material.

Investigators claimed that the suspects had taken an oath to “overthrow democracy and introduce Khilafat in Pakistan through armed struggle”. The suspects arrested by CTD belong to different districts of Punjab, but Sialkot served as the base of their operations. They had already established infrastructure in the district to carry out operations across the country.

It was, however, not clear when did the CTD bust the cell. The FIR was lodged on Monday.

Three of the suspects have received “militant training”, according to documents detailing their interrogation.

The operation, the first of its kind in the country, enabled the CTD to break the network and infrastructure of the group anywhere in Pakistan. The CTD has already shifted the suspects to an unspecified “highly secure place”.

Suspects got militant training and vowed to overthrow democracy
Interrogations show that the suspects were trying to extend their network to other parts of Punjab through recruitment.

They have been identified as Jawad Ahmad aka Abu Hafs, Amir Sohail, Ijaz Ahmad, Adnan Babar aka Danu Kabarria, Saeed Ahmad aka Abuzar, Yasir Ali, Hamza Imtiaz, and Waqas Ahmad.

Originally the suspects belonged to Jamaatud Dawa, but later joined the IS.

The arrested members of the IS had been communicating with one another through social media and Skype to avoid arrests.

DISLIKE FOR DEMOC­RACY:

Initial investigations into the case reveal that the suspects were also involved in recruitment and collection of funds for the group.

“The suspects dislike democracy in Pakistan while they hate police and Pakistan Army,” official documents said.

“In order to persuade other people to join their organisation, they would show them some video clips in which the Rangers were seen shooting a young man in Karachi. The prime objective of the IS men was to fan hatred against the country’s law enforcement agencies (LEAs).”

Interrogations have revealed that IS chief Abu-Bakr Baghdadi had appointed Hafiz Saeed Khan as the group’s Emir in ‘Khorasan’ (areas comprising Iran and some parts of Afghanistan) and proposed him as Emir for Pakistan too.

The investigators believe that the suspects also planned to launch attacks against LEAs.

According to CTD investigations, the suspects were indoctrinated and recruited by two brothers — Babar Butt aka Abu Akasha and Nadeem Butt.

“They had sworn allegiance to Khalifa al Baghdadi and joined IS in Daska tehsil of Sialkot district in June this year,” the documents revealed.

The documents say Abu Akasha had facilitated contacts between the suspects and a Pakistan national, Abu Muavia Salfi, who was in charge of Pakistani militants in Syria.

The interrogations show that Waqas aka Rizwan, also member of the IS from Sialkot, had been killed in clashes with the Syrian forces.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2015
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India-Pakistan
Mir Ali dronezap waxes two
2010-06-26
HT to WeaselZippers
Unmanned US strike aircraft killed two "militants" in an attack on a compound in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan in Pakistan.

A Predator or the more deadly Reaper fired a missile at a Taliban safe house in the Mir Ali area, killing 2 terrorists and wounding three more.

"It was a US drone strike," a local intelligence official in nearby Miramshah told Geo News. "The drone fired one missile on a house and the house was completely destroyed."

The town of Mir Ali is a known stronghold of al Qaeda leader Abu Kasha al Iraqi, an Iraqi national who is also known as Abu Akash. He has close links to the Taliban and the Haqqani Network. The Haqqani Network and Hafiz Gul Bahadar also have influence in the Mir Ali region.
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India-Pakistan
I admit my crime
2009-07-21
In his four-and-a-half-hour confession before judge Tahaliyani, Ajmal Kasab gives a blow-by-blow account of how 26/11 was carried out.
THE KILLINGS
Mujhe gunah kabool hai (I admit my crime). We fired on the public at CST -- Abu Ismail and I. Ismail lobbed grenades and I fired with the gun. We went a little ahead and entered a hall where we had a skirmish with the police. After another exchange of fire, all was quiet. The photographs shown of us at CST are genuine. We went back towards the platform, crossed an iron footbridge and descended into an alley. I checked vehicles parked there so that we could drive off in one. The CCTV footage shown of us around those cars is correct. However, none of the cars could be opened and we proceeded on foot. Ismail and I loaded our AK-47s. On walking a little ahead, we saw a man running. I fired at him and Ismail fired inside a house.

When we reached the gate of Cama Hospital, we saw that the wall was not too high and jumped over it. Ismail told me to wait while he checked the premises. I heard the sound of gunfire. Ismail returned and asked me to follow him. A man dressed in white was lying dead. I did not see his face. Another man was lying on a stretcher in a pool of blood. We went up a flight of stairs to the fifth floor. We stopped three persons in the ward, including a witness in the present case, and asked him to lie down so that we could frisk him. We then locked up five others, one of whom was lying in a pool of blood, in a bathroom, warning them not to make any noise. We went up to the terrace. As soon as we entered, we saw a man. I asked him to show us the way out. He indicated that policemen were around -- when we went down the staircase, we saw them for ourselves. I ran back and told Ismail.

He asked me where they were, but by then we could hear a commotion that the police had arrived. Ismail was near the door. He asked me to keep a watch on the terrace and asked for a grenade. I removed all the weapons from my bag and put them in Ismail's bag. Firing started. I kept a watch on the terrace. Then we started running downstairs and someone fired upon us. I returned fire and came down. Ismail went out first. We could see policemen near the gate, but they didn't notice us. Ismail said we should hide. There was a door near the wall, and a person was sitting outside the hall of the hospital. I warned him to keep mum, and we managed to get out of the hospital.

On the road, we saw a big blue vehicle coming towards us. We hid behind a small stall. The blue vehicle came nearer and Ismail lobbed a grenade at it. We then walked up to a bank and hid in some bushes. We saw the headlights of a vehicle, and as it came nearer to us there was firing from it. Ismail started firing back. I was injured on my right forearm, left wrist and right elbow. (Shows his injuries in court). My gun fell out of my hand and I also fell down. The firing continued, and Ismail walked towards the vehicle. He went to check it and kept firing on it. By then I got up and took my gun in my hand. I opened the doors of the police vehicle and found its occupants dead. We removed their bodies. Ismail started the jeep and I sat next to him. In the meantime there was firing on the vehicle but none of the bullets hit us. Ismail started driving with his left hand and firing with the other one. We took a right turn. Maine kaha main chal nahin sakta (I said I wouldn't be able to walk). Ismail said ' Tu hausla mat haar. Mujhe bhi goli lagi hai ' (Don't lose courage. I have also been shot). He said he had been shot in the knee. I could tell from the noise of the wheel that it had been punctured. We did not know the roads. We saw policemen in a motor vehicle, and on seeing weapons in our hands they started firing at us. We fired in retaliation and the cops left the spot to hide. We decided to stop a vehicle. A Skoda car, with two men and a woman in it, was passing, and we stopped it and made the occupants get out. I told Ismail that we should conceal our weapons somewhere so that nobody would be able to recognise us. We continued to drive on the same road and reached the same spot where we had hijacked the car. We saw the owner telling the police that it was his car. We started following a white car. A little ahead we could see barriers on the road. The white car went past them but policemen directed us to stop. I asked Ismail to slow down. A policeman came in front of the car. Ismail tried taking a U-turn. We could not understand anything and suddenly the wipers also started. Policemen came to the car, and one of them caught me by the collar. He pulled me out of the car. I was surrounded by policemen and one of them snatched my AK-47, which was in my hand. They started hitting me in my stomach and also with the butt of my gun. I did not fire. When I regained consciousness I was in hospital. I had not fired because I could not hold my gun.

HUM DUS THE (WE WERE TEN)

We travelled from Karachi in a small boat. Four persons came to see us off -- Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, Abu Hamza, Abu Kafa and Abu Jundala. I did not know the others personally but I can tell their names. Abu Ismail (he was our boss), Abu Akasha, Abu Umer, Abu Shoaib, Abu Ali, Abdul Rehman Chhota, Abdul Rehman Bada, Hafiz Arshad and Abu Fadaullah, who had a finger missing. A small boat from Karachi transported us to a big boat, which we used to get on to the high seas. There were three people on the small boat. I only remember the name of Hakib. On the big boat called 'Al Huseini' we slept and said our namaaz. When it sailed there were seven people on it -- Murshad, Aqib, Usman... I don't remember the other names. Murshad was the boss.

We were looking for another boat and spotted one. At 4 pm, it was brought to 'Al Huseini' and we started loading it with oil, blankets, rations and other things. The remaining articles were thrown into the sea. Murshad asked the five crew members of the other boat who their 'naqva' (navigator) was, and Amarjit Singh Solanki said it was him. The other four were taken to 'Al Huseini' and Singh remained on board. Murshad told us to take blankets and go to sleep. He told Ismail to take Solanki's help in case of difficulty. A big GPS set was also given to Ismail, which we threw into the sea when we reached India.

THE TRAINING

Last year, when I was working as a decorator in Jhelum city, my colleague, Muzaffar, suggested that we turn to dacoity for better money. I left the job, went to Rawalpindi with him and took a room on rent. We decided to commit dacoity at a certain bungalow. I was roaming alone at Rawalpindi's Raza market when I saw some Mujahideens buying animal skins. From my childhood, I had been hearing of these Mujahideens. They are known by their long hair and beards. A few days later, Muzaffar returned and we both visited the same market and were discussing our plans to rob the bungalow. I repeatedly asked him where we would get the weapons and how would we pull it off. I told him then that I had seen Mujahideens at the market, and that we could get weapons training from them, to which he agreed. We found out where their office was, and went there. A man asked me what I had come for. I told him we had come for Jihad, so he let us in. One person asked me my name, address and asked me to return next morning with extra clothes.
We returned with our baggage and we were given a chit on which was written the address of a training camp in Muridke. Three weeks later, I was sent from there to another camp. In the evening we went to Buttal jungle, where I met Muzaffar. We were given 21 days of training. After his training was over, Muzaffar's brother took him back home but I was told that I was going for bigger training.

Here, I was taught exercises, operating weapons like AK-47, guns and pistols. Three months went by like this. My trainer Abu Abdul Rehman asked me to bring my identity card from my native Okara district. I visited an office in Model Town there and was asked to go to Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir. Once in Muzaffarabad, I was asked to look for Saeed Bhai's office. I told them that I had come for Daura-E-Khaas (special training), and filled up a form. The next morning, we reached a training camp, where Abu Maaviya was our trainer and trained me for three months in operating rocket launchers, grenades, AK-47s and other sophisticated weapons. Then I was sent to my Faridkot home. I was told to return to Saeed Bhai's office after a week, which I did.

Ten days later, Saeed bhai, Abu Kafa and Abu Hamza came there and selected 15 of us. We were taken to Muzaffarabad and then to Muridke. Kafa was with me and we were trained to swim. A month later, we were taken to Karachi's seashore from where we were taken in small boats to big ones. The idea was to check if we could adjust to the sea's rough weather or not, and to see if we suffered from sea-sickness. We were then brought back to the same place and then two days later, we were again taken to Muzaffarabad where we met Hamza.

Of the 15 of us, two had run away, while six were sent to Kashmir. So seven of us were left, to which three other boys were added, making us ten in all. Hamza had a separate room, to which he would call us in pairs. On two occasions, he showed Ismail and me movies and pictures of CST station on his laptop. We were then taken to forests, trained further in firing, and were brought back. Two days later, we were given trousers and T-shirts, and our photographs were taken and our fake ID-cards made. Kafa took us to Karachi and gave us small bomb kits. We were asked to note down the time when the bomb kit's battery would turn on.

We stayed there for more than 90 days. We were trained to use an inflatable boat. It is the same boat produced in court. In Karachi we stayed in the same house that was shown on Geo TV. Two or three days before November 22, 2008, Hamza again came and played the same CST video to us. We were given arms and ammunition. Those bags were transported to Al-Huseini.

Kafa took us to the Karachi shore where Al-Huseini was anchored. Lakhwi, Hamza and Abu Jundal joined Kafa on the shore, while we were to leave for Mumbai. Jundal Hindustani hai, unhonein hi humein Hindi sikhaaein . My wish is that you should end this trial and punish me.

I wanted to confess much earlier but could not do so as Pakistan had disowned me. Now Pakistan is saying that I am a Pakistani.

They are also going to prosecute the offenders. Don't ask me how I know all this. I just do. You should accept my confession and punish me.
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India-Pakistan
Arrested terrorist says gang hoped to get away
2008-11-29
NEW DELHI: The gang of terrorists who wreaked mayhem in Mumbai for three days were made to believe by their Lashkar bosses that they were not being sent on a suicide mission and that they would be coming back alive.

In a sensational disclosure made by Ajmal, the jihadi nabbed alive by Mumbai cops, the group had planned to sail out on Thursday. Their recruiters had even charted out the return route for them and stored it on the GPS device which they had used to navigate their way to the Mumbai shoreline.

This suggests that the terrorists were willing to undertake a mission which they knew would be very risky, but not necessarily suicidal.

Sources said that the bait of safe return must have been used by the recruiters to convince the wavering among the group to join the audacious plot against Mumbai.

Ajmal made another important disclosure: that all terrorists were trained in marine warfare along with the special course Daura-e-Shifa conducted by the Lashkar-e-Toiba in what at once transforms the nature of the planning from a routine terror strike and into a specialized raid by commandos.

Battle-hardened ATS officials are surprised by the details of the training the terrorists were put through before being despatched for the macabre mission. This was very different from a terrorist attack, and amounted to an offensive from the seam, said a source.

Ajmal has revealed the name of his fellow jihadis all Pakistani citizens as Abu Ali, Fahad, Omar, Shoaib, Umer, Abu Akasha, Ismail, Abdul Rahman (Bara) and Abdul Rahman (Chhota).
Ajmal has revealed the name of his fellow jihadis all Pakistani citizens as Abu Ali, Fahad, Omar, Shoaib, Umer, Abu Akasha, Ismail, Abdul Rahman (Bara) and Abdul Rahman (Chhota).

The account of Ajmal also strengthens the doubt of the complicity of powerful elements in the Pakistani establishment. According to him, the group set off on November 21 from an isolated creek near Karachi without the deadly cargo of arms and ammunition they were to use against the innocents in Mumbai. The group received arms and ammunition on board a large Pakistani vessel which picked them up the following day. The vessel, whose ownership is now the subject of an international probe, had four Pakistanis apart from the crew.

A day later, they came across an Indian-owned trawler, Kuber, which was promptly commandeered on the seas. Four of the fishermen who were on the trawler were killed, but its skipper, or tandel in fishermen lingo, Amarjit Singh, was forced to proceed towards India. Amarjit was killed the next day, and Ismail the terrorist who was killed at Girgaum Chowpaty took the wheel.

A trained sailor, Ismail used the GPS to reach Mumbai coast on November 26. The group, however, slowed down its advance as they had reached during the day time while the landing was planned after dusk. The group shifted to inflatable boats, before disembarking at Badhwar Park in Cuffe Parade.

From there, they mandated to kill indiscriminately, particularly white foreign tourists, and spare Muslims split up into five batches. Two of them Ismail and Ajmal took a taxi to Victoria Terminus. Three other batches of two each headed for Oberoi Hotel, Cafe Leopold and Nariman House. The remaining four went to Taj Hotel.
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India-Pakistan
Pakistan: Militant 'survived drone attack'
2008-11-13
By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Iraqi-born militant Abu Akash survived a US predator drone attack in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan last month, sources have told Adnkronos International (AKI). Al-Qaeda's third in command, Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, is also alive and reports of his killing in the Bajaur tribal area in August were fabricated by Pakistani security agencies, unnamed militant sources told AKI.

Abu Akash (known by his comrades as Abu Akasha) survived the deadly attack on the North Waziristan town of Mir Ali on 31 October, according to the sources.

"Abu Akasha left the house before the US predator drone missile strike in which over two dozen local tribal people were killed. He is healthy and very much in his routine," the sources maintained.

An announcement of al-Yazid's killing in Bajaur by Pakistani security forces was immediately contradicted by militants. "It was a cheap publicity shot on behalf of the Pakistani security forces to boast their military successes in Bajaur," the sources said, referring to the reported death of al-Yazid, believed to be Al-Qaeda's commander in Afghanistan. "Those who know the sheikh are aware that he is not based in Bajaur," sources said.

In further evidence of his survival, al-Yazid appeared in an Al-Qaeda video that surfaced in September warning 'Crusader' countries against offending Islam.

Abu Akash, who moved to the region three or four years ago, is known to have trained militants of Uzbek and Tajik origin. He has never been part of Al-Qaeda. Like most Arabs based in South Asia he is close to Al-Qaeda's inner circle but is not a member of the terror network or one of its advisors.
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India-Pakistan
Suspected US missile strike kills 20 in Pakistan
2008-11-01
A mid-level al-Qaeda leader, identified as an Iraqi, was among up to 20 people killed on Friday in a suspected missile strike by U.S. spy drones in northwest Pakistan, a Pakistani intelligence official said.

The intelligence official identified the al-Qaeda leader as Abu Akash and said he was believed to have been Iraqi. "He is a mid-level al-Qaeda man who was leading a high-profile life in Mir Wali," said the official, who declined to be identified, referring to the second biggest town in the North Waziristan region on the Afghan border. Local residents said the strike hit the house of a Pakistani tribesman named Amanullah Dawar.

Two missiles were involved in the strike, which destroyed a vehicle and a house in North Waziristan tribal region that is a known hub of al-Qaeda and Taliban militants on the area bordering Afghanistan.

The attack came just two days after Pakistan, a key ally in the U.S.-led "war on terrorism", summoned Washington's ambassador to Islamabad to receive a strong protest over a number of similar strikes.

Sunday's strike killed senior Taliban commander Haji Omar Khan, a lieutenant of veteran Afghan Taliban chieftain and former anti-Soviet fighter Jalaluddin Haqqani. It was the 17th such strike in the past 10 weeks, according to an AFP tally. All of them have been blamed on U.S.-led coalition forces or CIA drones based in neighboring Afghanistan.

The attacks have sharply raised tensions between Washington and nuclear-armed Pakistan. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has promised zero tolerance against violations of his country's sovereignty. The attacks have also become an election issue in the U.S. presidential campaign.
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India-Pakistan
Terror on the mountains
2006-05-11



Despite the high media impact of communal killings of Hindus, internal Union Home Ministry data exclusively obtained by Frontline makes clear that Muslims are the principal victims of the jehad that Islamist groups are fighting in their name.


BY PRAVEEN SWAMI
in Jammu

On the politics and practice of massacres in the Jammu region in the wake of the killings in Doda and Udhampur districts.

FOR the most part, the war in the high mountains of Jammu and Kashmir remains invisible. Strung along the banks of the Tawi river in Jammu, if one cares to look, are the makeshift homes of the hundreds of people, Hindu and Muslim, who have fled the Islamist assault that has torn apart communities on the Pir Panjal range. Their stories, though, rarely figure outside of the antiseptic press releases issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Police each evening.

Until, that is, there is a large enough massacre.

Last month, the invisible war once again made its way on to newspaper headlines when 32 Hindu villagers were killed in two separate communal terror strikes in the districts of Doda and Udhampur, northeast of Jammu. Nineteen residents of the mountain hamlets of Kulhand and Tharwa, including an eight-year-old girl, were shot dead outside their homes late on the night of April 30. Also, 13 shepherds were shot dead north of the Lalon Galla, a high-altitude meadow above the town of Basantgarh.

Witnesses say that a group of six terrorists arrived in Kulhand and Tharwa at around 11 p.m. and ordered men from some 40 adjacent buildings to gather at the home of Gopi Chand, the village headman. Once there, the victims were made to form a queue; the terrorists then fired at them with assault rifles at point-blank range until their ammunition was exhausted. Ten people were seriously injured, and survived only because the bodies of others had fallen over them.

Hours before the killing began in Kulhand and Tharwa, another terrorist unit kidnapped two shepherds near Lalon Galla. Mohammad Siraj-ud-Din and his son Rukun-ud-Din were ordered to guide the terrorists to a nearby dhok, or meadow, on which Hindu herdsmen from Basantgarh had set up camp for the summer. Once there, the terrorists marched the 13 men they could find into the forests. Four of the victims were shot near the meadow where they were kidnapped, and the rest, a short distance away.

Neither set of villagers was expecting trouble. Kulhand residents, like many Hindus in Doda, had for long maintained a quiet peace with terrorists operating in the area. When Village Defence Committees (VDCs) were set up in the area after a series of massacres in 1998-1999, local residents refused weapons and training. A police post was set up in the village four years ago, but removed after villagers insisted that its presence was more likely to provoke terrorist retaliation than protect them from harm.

On the night of the massacre, few Kulhand residents anticipated trouble. The men who were marched out of their homes thought the terrorists needed help hauling supplies up the mountains, a task for which they had used villagers at regular intervals. Many could have escaped into the darkness - but saw no reason to do so. The shepherds at Lalon Galla, too, marched willingly into the jungles with the terrorists, perhaps thinking that their labour was needed to build a hideout or bury weapons and ammunition.

What evidence is available so far suggests that the killings were the work of the Lashkar-e-Taiba - the Pakistan-based terrorist group responsible for 16 similar massacres in Jammu and Kashmir since 1993, in which at least 150 civilians have been killed. Notably, Siraj-ud-Din and Rukun-ud-Din identified one of the terrorists who carried out the Lalon Galla killings as Aijaz Ahmad, a long-standing Lashkar operative who hails from Raichak village near Basantgarh.

Intelligence sources told Frontline that they believed both massacres were executed on the orders of `Abu Talha', the Doda-area `divisional commander' of the Lashkar, who is so far identified only by his nom de guerre. Believed to be a Pakistani national, `Abu Talha' narrowly escaped a May 5 encounter which claimed the life of his lieutenant, `Abu Akasha'. The same day, police and Army personnel also made fire-contact with the terrorist group, thought to be responsible for the Udhampur killings, but without success.

What motives might the terrorists who executed the massacres have had? Some are obvious. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was scheduled to meet the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, less than 48 hours after the killings. The Prime Minister was also to hold a round-table conference in Srinagar involving all major political parties later this month. Jehadi organisations, who do not wish to join in the dialogue process, have no interest in its perpetuation.

Terrorist groups, have long used death as an instrument to derail efforts towards détente. In August 2000, a month after the pro-dialogue Hizb ul-Mujahideen commander Abdul Majid Dar declared a unilateral ceasefire, cadre from his organisation and the Lashkar carried out a series of communal massacres in an effort to sabotage the movement towards peace. In less than 48 hours, starting with the massacre of 30 pilgrims near the shrine of Amarnath, six strikes were carried out in the districts of Anantnag, Doda and Kupwara.

However, communal massacres long predate peace efforts in Jammu and Kashmir. After targeting prominent members of the State's Pandit minority for assassination and intimidation in the first phase of jehadi violence, terrorists began executing large-scale killings from August 1993, when 13 Hindus were massacred at Sarthal, in Doda. Three years later, 16 Hindus were again executed in the Doda village of Barshalla. Local feuds over grazing rights often facilitated the violence.

From 1998, communal massacres gathered momentum and scale. In 1998, 132 civilians died in six massacres across the State and in adjoining Himachal Pradesh. After a lull in 1999, the massacres resumed in 2000. In 2001, 108 people were killed in 11 major incidents, while 83 people were killed in five incidents in 2002. Most of these killings targeted poor communities in the State's more remote mountain regions: the groom whose wedding procession was targeted in Chapnari did not even possess sandals.

Although the scale of communal terror strikes has diminished since 2002 - a fact Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh omitted to mention when he called for the imposition of Governor's rule after the killings - periodic attacks continue. Just in October last year, a unit of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen-Pir Panjal Regiment targeted two hamlets in Rajouri's Budhal area for such attacks. While women in the village were ordered to prepare food for the terrorists, eleven Hindu men aged between 18 and 57 had their throats slit one by one.

One motivation for this gruesome campaign has been to bring about large-scale migrations of Hindus from Muslim-majority areas north of the Chenab river. Jehadi groups hope that mass killings, and retaliatory communal terrorism directed at Hindus, would help realise a sundering of Jammu and Kashmir along ethno-religious lines. As such, communal massacres are an instrument to replicate the communal logic on which the Partition of India was based - Pakistan's long-standing aspiration.

Partition-based ideas have emanated, in recent years, from the United States-based Kashmir Study Group and Pakistan's back-channel negotiator during the Kargil war, Niaz Naik. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's recent calls for a division of Jammu and Kashmir into seven separate provinces, although couched in language based on geography rather than religion, would have much the same effect if implemented. Mirwaiz Farooq, interestingly, presented all these ideas to the Prime Minister during their meeting.

Notably, Muslim villagers opposed to Islamist terror groups have also faced savage assault. In 2001, for example, 15 Muslim villagers, including seven children, were executed at the village of Kot Charwal, in Rajouri, for having set up a self-defence group to keep Islamist terrorists out of the area. Muslim VDC members and others hostile to the jehad have regularly been targeted since. In January, for example Rashid Begum and two members of her family were killed in Arnas for campaigning against the Hizb.

Despite the high media impact of communal killings of Hindus, internal Union Home Ministry data exclusively obtained by Frontline makes clear that Muslims are the principal victims of the jehad that Islamist groups are fighting in their name. Last year, for example, just 54 of the 489 civilians killed by terrorists were Hindu. In most years since 1989, less than 15 per cent of the civilian fatalities have been Hindu. Only in 1990 did that figure cross 20 per cent, a figure considerably lower than the Hindu representation in the State's population.

It would be mistaken, moreover, to see communal massacres as a means to an end: in the Lashkar's world view, they are the end. Lashkar ideologues see the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir as a consequence of the fact that, as one of the organisation's articles suggests, "the Hindus have no compassion in their religion". In the world of Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the overall head of the Lashkar, "the Hindu is a mean enemy and the proper way to deal with him is the one adopted by our forefathers who crushed them by force".

What political challenge could there be to this language of hate? Jammu's people have responded to the succession of massacres in the region with little other than peace protests - and something approaching stoic resignation. No major riots, for example, have broken out despite the efforts of communal forces to incite violence. However, there is also a communal current underpinning the apparent peace. Massacres of Muslims by terrorists, notably, have never provoked mass protests in Jammu.

In Kashmir, too, the massacres of Hindus in the Jammu region have never been a catalyst for anything other than polemical condemnation - and, on occasion, baseless claims that these killings have been engineered to defame the anti-India movement in the State. Days after Kulhand and Lalon Galla, old-city Srinagar was convulsed with violent protests against a city pornography ring - but not one shop downed shutters to express grief against the obscene theatre enacted in the mountains.

Politicians need to intervene if this culture is to change. Major political parties such as the Congress, the People's Democratic Party and the National Conference are complicit in, and responsible for, the partitioning of people's grief. Although all parties condemned the killings in Kulhand and Lalon Galla, not one led a mass protest against it in Kashmir. Nor have political groups ever organised demonstrations in Jammu against the killings of innocents north of the Pir Panjal mountains.

Each such act of silence, sadly, makes it that much easier for the armies of the jehad to achieve their objective.
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