Pakistani officials reveal Mumbai attackers' training

Pakistani officials have informed an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi the details of training received at Lashkar-e-Taiba camps by the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks.

Judge Chaudhry Habibur Rehman Saturday recorded the statements of five inspectors of crime investigation department who are prosecution witnesses, the daily Dawn reported Sunday.

They informed him about the training received by the accused, including Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, alleged mastermind, at LeT camps in Karachi, Mansehra, Thatta and Muzaffarabad.

Lakhvi, a resident of Okara district, is an expert in using improvised explosive devices. He also served as LeT commander in Pakistani Kashmir, the court heard.

The inspectors informed the court that some of the accused also trained at sea near Karachi's Gadap town, according to the newspaper.

The Federal Investigation Agency's special prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali told the court that the witnesses recorded their statements without any pressure.

Counsel for Lakhvi, Khwaja Mohammad Haris asked the witnesses whether they had witnessed the accused getting training at the LeT camps.

They admitted that they had never visited the LeT places or witnessed the suspects getting training and had relied upon the reports of informers.

Lakhvi's counsel said the witnesses had no direct knowledge of the involvement of his client in the attacks and had never shared their intelligence with the police.

"If they knew that Lakhvi or other suspects were involved in suspicious activities then why they did not put their names in the Fourth Schedule to limit their movement.

"The prosecution has fabricated a false story against the suspects and the statements of the five witnesses are part of that story," he alleged.

A total of 166 people died in the terrorist attack in Mumbai in November 2008.