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| India-Pakistan |
| IC 814 INVESTIGATION : An Insider Speaks |
| 2003-11-02 |
| The source is paid/registration only so I’ve got the entire article here. The CBI’s grilling of the former Taliban foreign minister confirms Indian suspicions of an ISI role in the Kandahar hijacking. December 31, 1999, Kandahar airport. An Indian delegation is preparing to exchange three terrorists for 154 passengers of IC 814. As A.K. Doval of the Intelligence Bureau remembers, "Three incredible things happen: when the hijackers forget to turn off their receivers we hear the voices of three high-ranking officers of the ISI telling them what to do, what to answer ... When we proceed with the exchange, it is the ISI guys who come to check their identities ... And ... the ISI officers (took) charge of the prisoners." Doval said this to Bernard-Henri Levy in his new book, Who Killed Daniel Pearl?, highlighting the Indian conviction of Pakistani involvement in the hijacking. That received a boost when CBI investigators questioned the chief negotiator for the hijackers and Taliban foreign minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, at a safe house in Kabul last month. Muttawakil tells India what happened next. The terrorists-Maulana Masood Azhar, Omar Sheikh and Mushtaq Zargar-and the five hijackers-Ibrahim Athar, Yusuf Azhar, Zahoor Mistri, Syed Shahid Akhtar and Shakir Mohammed-drove into Kandahar town for a sumptuous meal at the house of Taliban leader General Usmani (who remains out of US reach), and then, accompanied by the ISI officials, slipped back into Pakistan. During his interrogation, Muttawakil revealed the depth of the nexus between the ISI and the Taliban, gave glimpses into its role in the hijacking, disclosed that Ibrahim Athar, brother of Masood Azhar, was the leader of the hijackers and confirmed that Pakistan was their destination. According to the CBI, Muttawakil also named several Taliban leaders and ISI officials involved. For India, however, crucial evidence in the form of records of the ATC at Kandahar is still missing and, officials say, has probably been destroyed. Besides, the Indians are yet to be allowed a peek into the US interrogation records, which might provide more clues. The next step in the investigation will be to pressure the Bangladesh Government to let Indian investigators into Dhaka-the hijacking plot was reportedly hatched at a house in Subzi Mandi in the city. A second ploy will be to ask for Muttawakil’s extradition which is a long shot because the US needs him now to attract what they call the "moderate Taliban" elements. In late 2001, when Muttawakil surrendered to the US authorities, India took the opportunity provided by the war on terrorism to demand access in order to question him on the IC 814 hijacking. For the next 18 months the Americans stalled, even after India reminded them that a US national Jennie Moore had been among the hostages. The US, it seems, did not want to let India in on the nexus between the ISI and the Taliban-it would have confirmed Indian suspicions. But by October 2003, the US along with Afghan President Hamid Karzai had begun to court the moderate Taliban in the hope of securing some stability. And the first one to be let off the hook was Muttawakil who was moved from the US centre at Bagram airbase to house arrest in Kandahar. India demarched the US and Afghan governments yet again but this time the US responded positively. Senior officials admit that if the US had stalled again, India was preparing an Interpol notice to access Muttawakil. Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Vivek Katju received a call from the US officials on October 11 night and a CBI team was in Kabul on October 13 morning. So why has the US given India access to the Taliban leader after all this time? Indian officials reckon that after the notification on Dawood Ibrahim, Washington is a little more sensitive to Indian concerns about Pakistani role in terrorism. Having questioned him for 18 months, the US, they feel, now has little use for Muttawakil’s revelations. Therefore, giving India the chance to talk to him doesn’t cost the US much. But on a more positive note, officials say, it points to growing synergies with the US. |
| Posted by:rg117 |
| #2 IIRC, Muttawakil was on poor terms with the rest of the Taliban starting in June-July 2001. He's got a history that is worth considering. I'm ok with him being let off the hook. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2003-11-2 3:42:20 PM |
| #1 I suppose the courtship of the moderate Taliban is an inevitable development. I wonder if they have a to answer a questionaire to confirm their moderate views. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-11-2 11:17:11 AM |