MUMBAI ATTACKS PROSECUTION UPDATE

					  C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ISLAMABAD 000505 

 

SIPDIS 

 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2019 

TAGS: PREL, PTER, PGOV, PK 

SUBJECT: MUMBAI ATTACKS PROSECUTION UPDATE 

 

REF: ISLAMABAD 366 

 

Classified By: Anne W. Patterson for reasons 1.4 (b), (d). 

 
					

1. (C) Summary: On March 4, Federal Investigative Agency
(FIA) Director General Tariq Khosa briefed FBI Director
Mueller on the details of the Mumbai attacks investigation.
The FIA investigative team continues to meet Legatt officers
to discuss the ongoing prosecution and sharing of
information. The FIA currently has four suspects, Zaki
ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Hammad Ameen Sadiq, Mazhar Iqbal (aka al
Qama), Abdul Wajid (aka Zarrar Shah), in its remand. All
four have been charged in a new Anti-Terrorism Court in
Islamabad. On March 17, the suspects will be moved to
judicial detention where the investigators will not have
direct access to them without lawyers. The FIA has stressed
that it needs all evidentiary support from both India and
other countries prior to this date. The FIA investigation
has been robust enough to charge the four suspects, however,
it still lacks sufficient evidence to easily convict the
Mumbai attack suspects. Information and evidence from the
GOI will be crucial to successful conviction of the
perpetrators in Pakistani courts. The Indian High Commission
in Islamabad reports that the Home Ministry has answered the
GOP's 30 questions, but the answers have not reached the
External Affairs Ministry. A summary of outstanding requests
is detailed in paragraphs 9-11. End summary.


FIA DIRECTOR GENERAL KHOSA


--------------------------



2. (C) FBI Director Mueller met with FIA Director Tariq Khosa
on March 4 to discuss the ongoing cooperation between the two
law enforcement agencies. After the initial meeting, Khosa
excused most of his additional deputies and presented
sensitive information about the Mumbai attacks investigation.
According to Khosa, India passed its dossier to Pakistan
through diplomatic channels on January 5, but the FIA did not
receive this information until January 15 when it was finally
tasked with the investigation. However, the FBI had passed
important tearlines, specifically about the attackers' boat
engines, that prompted the FIA to start its own investigation
prior to January 15. Khosa presented identity information
about Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist in GOI
custody. Though Kasab has no Pakistani identification card,
the FIA was able to trace his family, his village, and his
work history. The other nine perpetrators have not yet been
identified. Khosa believed that if India provides additional
information on the nine individuals, such as cell phone data,
the FIA will be able to identify them as well. Director
Mueller noted the depth and breadth of the FIA investigation
that included link charts, financial leads, and technical
data. Khosa stressed that for a successful prosecution, the
FIA needs evidence from India, including authenticated copies
of the confessions. Khosa also passed a copy of the First
Information Report (FIR) to Director Mueller. (Note. A copy
of the FIR has been emailed to SCA/PB. End Note.)

3. (C) Khosa presented powerpoint slides detailing the main
investigative leads on both suspects and material evidence.
These included:

-Zaki ur-Rehman Lakhvi: He is the alleged mastermind
and is in FIA remand custody. He led an LeT training camp in
Muzaffarabad.

-Hammad Ameen Sadiq: Sadiq was arrested on February 15
and charged by the Anti-Terrorism Court on March 17. He is
currently in FIA remand custody. He was one of the main
facilitators and was linked to the two training sites in
Sindh. Two terrorist bank accounts are also linked to Sadiq.
FBI asked for access to Sadiq. Khosa responded that granting
access was under consideration, however, the FIA could pass
questions to the investigators.

-Mazhar Iqbal (alias Abu al-Qama): He was arrested
February 18 and is in FIA custody. He is another main LeT
leader.

-Abdul Wajid (alias Zarrar Shah): He was a main LeT
communicator and is currently in FIA custody. He has been to
Afghanistan and may have other terrorist links.

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-Javaid Iqbal: The FIA lured him from Spain on an
immigration charge. He is currently in judicial custody
awaiting trial on a separate immigration matter. He is
cooperating with the FIA. A copy of his passport was stolen
by his boss, Muhammad Ashfaq, to wire money from Spain. The
FIA is still waiting for more information from Spain.

-Iftikhar Ali (alias Malik Taimour): He sent money
through Moneygram and is still a suspect at large.

-Muhammad Amjad Khan: He is accused and at large. He
was one of the main facilitators who rented two houses in
Karachi. The FIA has bank account information on Khan.

-Shahid Jameel Riaz: He was very actively involved in
the conspiracy, and went on the boat as a crew member. Riaz
was also part of the financing. He is accused and at large.

-LeT Training Center in Karachi "Azizabad": The site is
currently in FIA custody. Samples have been obtained for DNA
analysis. Other evidence found at the site includes lockers,
small boats, and other marine training equipment.

-LeT Training Center in Goth Ali Nawaz Shah Thatta
"Punj Tehni": This second site is 150 km from Karachi and is
presumably where the terrorists launched their boat. The
site is next to the sea and in a small thatched building.
The FIA found a "pink box" similar to the one described by
Indian authorities. They need more evidence about the box
from the GOI to connect it to the conspiracy. Evidence found
at the site includes boat engines and spare parts.

-Yamaha Engine: This engine was sold in Karachi and the
sport shop owner provided the FIA with a telephone number
that led to one of the main culprits.

-Al-Hussain & Al-Fouz Motorboats: The terrorists had
initially purchased a boat (Al-Hussain) for 180,000 PKR but
it capsized and sank. Right before the attack, they urgently
bought another boat (Al-Fouz) boat for 600,000 PKR. DNA
samples from the Al Fouz boat should connect to the dead
terrorists, once this information is received from India. The
FIA has the crew list for the boats and is currently tracking
the crew members, including Captain Shahid Ghafoor and Sabir
Salfi.

-Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP): The FIA requested
immediate support and information from India to access the
VOIP data.

-Thoraya Satellite: The FIA has requested more
information from Interpol Dubai about involved satellite
phone.

-Pistols "Diamond Nedi Frontier Arms Co, Peshawar": The
FIA needs GOI clarification about the gauge of these arms.

4. (C) Detailing the progress thus far, Khosa described it as
"Kasab in Indian custody, four arrested in Pakistan, five
accused and absconded, five suspects, two funding sources,
six witnesses, and eight material exhibits." The FIA
completed its initial probe in two weeks with limited
information from India. The last 15 days have been critical
in formulating the prosecution, but the FIA still needs
significant evidence to successfully convict the suspects.
When asked how much the whole operation might have cost,
Khosa responded that it was done with less than 4 million PKR
(50,000 USD). In response to how to address the India-
Pakistan problem of sharing information, Khosa said that if
India passed its entire 11,000 page chargesheet to the GOP,
there would be no excuse on the Pakistani side for not
sharing information. Khosa also mentioned that India and
Pakistan are institutionally linked and the FIA visited the
Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2006. There
is a standing offer for the CBI to visit the FIA in Pakistan.
Director Mueller also offered his help and that of the FBI
to break any impasse between the Indian and Pakistani
investigators.

FIA INVESTIGATIVE TEAM


--------------------------




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5. (C) On March 9, Legatt and Poloff met with the FIA
investigative team on the Mumbai attacks. The meeting was led
by FIA Additional Directors General Qureshi and Iqbal. The
FIA team confirmed that the suspects in custody were
currently in FIA remand and would be transferred on March 17
to judicial custody. Currently FIA has complete access to the
suspects; however, under judicial custody the investigators
would have to go through the suspects' lawyers. Due to this
change in status, the FIA team stressed that receiving
additional evidence from the GOI was imperative before March
17. The FIA confirmed that it has four suspects in custody
and awaiting trial: Zaki ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Hammad Ameen
Sadiq, Mazhar Iqbal (aka al Qama), Abdul Wajid (Zarrar Shah).

6. (C) The FIA and FBI teams discussed the technical details
of the investigation. The FIA confirmed it was following two
Internet Service Provider addresses from which email had been
sent. One of the IP addresses was from a portable provider
(Worldcall) that did not have records for specific users. The
FIA was following up with the other IP provider, Wateen. The
FIA is still looking for voice exemplars of the LeT
controllers from India. They would like this information
prior to March 17 so that they can have the suspects or other
witnesses identify the voices, specifically of Zarrar Shah
and al-Qama.

7. (C) The FIA is concerned about jurisdiction and
evidentiary problems that may arise in the case. The
Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) does not now apply to
extra-territorial cases, and proving jurisdiction over
terrorist attacks that took place in India may be difficult
absent a change in the law. (Zardari has a draft change in
the ATA that he has not signed.) The fact that the FIA does
not have direct access to the crime scene makes proving the
conspiracy very challenging. Also the FIA is concerned about
the procedural problems of introducing third party (from the
FBI) evidence in Pakistani court for which there is no
precedent. Criminal courts in Pakistan, according to the FIA
team, do not recognize foreign forensic experts. When asked
about an FIA team coming to Washington to exchange
information and evidence with the FBI, the FIA responded that
it was up to the Minister of Interior. The Minister has told
the Ambassador that he plans to visit Washington after March
20 and is willing to share more information. Also the
sharing of the full investigation report was at the
discretion of the Minister of Interior.

INDIAN DEPUTY HIGH COMMISSIONER


--------------------------



8. (C) The DCM met with Deputy India High Commissioner
Manpreet Vohra on March 9. He confirmed to the DCM that the
Indian Home Ministry had completed the answers to the 30
questions passed by the GOP. The Indian Ministry of External
Affairs had not yet received the answers as of Friday, March
6. The Ministry of External Affairs should receive the
answers this week and will then pass them to the Pakistani
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to Vohra.


OUTSTANDING ITEMS


--------------------------



9. (C) The FIA continues to seek the following items from the
GOI:
-DNA profiles of dead attackers
-Fingerprints of attackers
-Clear photographs of each perpetrator
-Clear forensic photographs of each article seized from
suspects
-Voice recordings of LeT controllers
-Answers to 30 questions passed through diplomatic
channels

10. (C) The FIA continues to seek the following items from
the FBI:
-Digital Photos of the nine deceased attackers
-Forensic photos and serial numbers of the Yamaha engine
-Fingerprints of the attackers
-Telephone Number Data from Callphonex (data owned by
India)
-Satellite Telephone Numbers


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11. (C) The FBI continues to seek the following items from
the FIA:
-Full FIA investigative report
-Access to those in custody
-Biographical information on those charged and arrested
-Locations of training camps and staging areas
-IP address information
-Information on VOIP payments
-Nokia cell phone sales information
-Thuraya SIM card seized from Azizabad

12. (C) The FBI has passed the FIA several pieces of
evidence, including GPS data, data on engines used,
interviews of both Ajmal Kasab and Mubashir Shahid, and data
on IP addresses. The FBI continues to meet with the FIA
investigative team to help facilitate the prosecution and
sharing of information. The FBI would like to bring a team
of FIA investigators to Washington, DC to better enable
evidence sharing.

13. (C) Comment: The FIA investigation to this date has been
robust enough to charge several individuals, however, it
still lacks sufficient evidence to easily convict all Mumbai
attack suspects. Information and evidence from the GOI will
be crucial to successful conviction of the perpetrators in
Pakistani courts. If the four high-level suspects, Zaki
ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Hammad Ameen Sadiq, Mazhar Iqbal (aka al
Qama), Abdul Wajid (Zarrar Shah), are not convicted, the
credibility of Pakistan's resolve against terrorism will be
suspect. The GOP needs technical law enforcement and
evidentiary support to build a strong case against all the
terror suspects. End comment.
PATTERSON