Friday, February 27, 2009

Kasab didn’t use sea route to Mumbai: Pak Navy Chief

Islamabad, Feb 27: In yet another sign of prevalent utter disarray in the Pakistani establishment, their Navy Chief Noman Bashir on Friday claimed that there is “no proof” behind Indian claims that the lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab had landed in Mumbai to carry out attacks using sea route from Pakistan.

Bashir said that although there is no definitive proof that sea route was used, but even if they indeed came by sea to Mumbai then it is nothing but a failure of the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard.

“Even if they (Mumbai attackers) could pass through Pak waters unnoticed, what Navy that’s 10 times bigger than us doing is anybody’s guess,” said Noman.

At the same time, he admitted that patrolling the waters on the Pakistani side of the international border off the Gujarat coast was "difficult" due to the dispute over the Sir Creek.

His claims are in absolute contradiction to the Pakistan Interior Ministry’s reply to the 26/11 dossier in which they had acceded that the persons involved in the attacks were Pakistani nationals and that they had used the sea route to Mumbai.

In fact, Interior Minister Rehman Malik had said, while replying to the dossier, that the interrogation of the dealer - of the Yamaha engine fitted on the 11-seater inflatable dinghy, used by the attackers after they abandoned al Kuber boat and was recovered from Badhwar Park in Mumbai – was a crucial link in unravelling the entire operation.

Incidentally, the U-turn by Pakistan comes just two days after the Mumbai Police filed the chargesheet in the 26/11 attacks case and can also be perceived as a measure to derail the investigations in India.

More importantly, the discordant notes in Pakistan also points to the still persisting and well apparent discomfort about owing up the complacency of its nationals in the 26/11 attacks. Even the special public prosecutor in the 26/11 attacks case was fired by President Zardari, earlier today, for claiming that Islamabad had formally asked for the extradition of Ajmal Kasab.

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