NEW DELHI: The Union Home Ministry on Thursday handed over Udhampur terror attack case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The decision was taken by Home Minister Rajnath Singh as interrogation by the J&K police revealed Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) designs to target areas beyond Kashmir valley.
Sources in the Home Ministry said Naved will be brought to Delhi in the next 2-3 days by the anti-terror agency, which will probe the larger design of Pakistan’s ISI. They also confirmed that Naved during interrogation gave out details of his terror training, his family and even the phone number of his father, Mohammed Yakub, disclosing the true face of Pakistan, which has always been in denial.
After Naved’s arrest, Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson Syed Qazi Khalilullah refuted India’s claim, denying that the captured terrorist was a Pakistani national. “We expect that whenever Pakistan is being accused of something, it shall be accompanied by concrete evidence,” Khalilullah said.
But, again this assertion flies in the face of accumulated evidence that implicates Pakistan’s ISI nexus with terror outfits like LeT.
Naved told interrogators that he had undergone Daura-e-Sufa training for three weeks in Muridke followed by another three week training Daura-e-Aam in Muzaffarabad. He was later sent for four months of training called Bait-ul-Rizwan. This rigorous training was imparted for unarmed combat and close quarter battles by retired Pakistani armed forces personnel.
“He also claimed that part of the training was conducted somewhere in Sindh. It seems he was told by the handlers to attack security forces in Jammu and avoid any incidents in Kashmir valley,” sources added.
It is learnt that Naved also named LeT trainers in Muzaffarabad — Waleed and Haroon, who were part of the batch of 11 terror operatives trained by the LeT for fidayeen attacks against India. Naved also named his local handler LeT Commander ‘Abu Qasim’ who helped him and Noman reach Udhampur.
Sources told Express that Abu Qasim, a Pakistani national codenamed Mohammad Bhai , has been operating in Pulwama, Budgam, Kulgam, Shopian and was under the scanner. He also named three other over-ground LeT terrorists Ali, Shaheen and Abu Umar. Meanwhile, Justice Dipak Misra, who dismissed Yakub Memon’s last-minute attempt to escape the gallows and rejected his mercy plea has received a threat letter at his residence.