JOIN USInterpol issues notices to 26/11 accused
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna termed the Interpol Red Corner notice on Saeed a “vindication” of New Delhi’s stand that the JuD chief was one of the key plotters of the terrorist attacks in the capital of Maharashtra.
Krishna also criticised Pakistan for dilly-dallying on the trial of Saeed, who is also suspected to be the founder of the outlawed terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).
Interpol on Wednesday issued a Red Corner notice on another LeT operative Abu Hamza and Blue Corner notices against 19 others, including Colonel R Sadatullah, an officer of the Pakistani Army.
The international police organisation had on Tuesday issued Red Corner notices against Saeed and Zaki-Ur-Rehman Lakhvi, another mastermind of the carnage. The notices were issued after a court in Mumbai issued non-bailable warrants against Saeed, Lakhvi and 20 others for their alleged role in the 26/11 attacks.
After New Delhi’s intense diplomatic pressure on Islamabad early this year, Lakhvi and four others were arrested in Pakistan for their role in the attacks. Saeed too was under house-arrest, but was set free by Lahore High Court on June 3 last. “Interpol’s Red Corner notice (on Saeed) is the vindication of what India says. The perpetrators of Mumbai attacks will have to be brought to justice. We have painstakingly collected evidence to convey the involvement of this person (Saeed),” Krishna said.
Interpol issues Red Corner notices to seek arrest or provisional arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition. It is not an international arrest warrant though. The Red Corner notices are based either on arrest warrants for persons wanted for prosecution; or on a court decision for a person wanted to serve a sentence. The Blue Corner notices are issued to collect additional information about a person’s identity or activities in relation to a crime.
Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist to be caught alive during the carnage in Mumbai, had named Abu Hamza, Abu Jindal, Abu Qama and Lakhvi as handlers and trainers of the 10-member -gang that was tasked to attack Mumbai.
Col Sadatullah is suspected to have arranged the telephonic conversations between the terrorists and their handlers based in Pakistan during the three-day carnage. He works for the Pakistani Army’s Special Communication Office.
Hinting that New Delhi may again launch a diplomatic campaign against Islamabad to force the latter to act on the Interpol Red and Blue Corner notices, the External Affairs Minister said the world should take note of the international police organisation’s moves against the 26/11 masterminds.
Home Minister P Chidambaram said New Delhi would share the dossiers against Saeed and others with 15-16 countries, particularly the ones whose nationals were among the people killed or maimed by the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
New Delhi had last week given Islamabad yet another compilation of evidences against Saeed, after the latter alleged that the earlier dossiers had nothing to nail the JuD chief.