26/11: The Sajid Mir-Dawood nexus that Pakistan still shields, even 17 years later

New Delhi, Nov 25 It has been 17 years since the horrific Mumbai 26/11 attack that claimed over 160 lives, in probably one of the most audacious onslaughts that the country witnessed and one which brought the city that never sleeps to a standstill for nearly 48 hours when ten terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Taiba created havoc and mayhem through it.

17 years later, the investigators have managed to solve many mysteries attached to the attack.

However, there are still a lot of unanswered questions, and the two most important ones are relating to the local angle and the identity of the mysterious Sajid Mir.

Uncovering Mir’s real identity has always remained a challenge for the security agencies.

In fact, Mir played the most important role in the attack. Prior to the attacks, he had first visited India as a cricket fan. Officials say that it was during that visit that he identified the targets that were to be hit.

The Taj Mahal Hotel, Oberoi, Trident, and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal are all well-known landmarks. However, what puzzled investigators was that the terrorists had identified the little-known Nariman House, now known as the Chabad House. Many within the locality were unaware of such a place, and investigators felt that this target may have been identified by someone who knows the city extremely well.

This brings up the question of whether there was a Dawood Ibrahim involvement in the attack. He was born and brought up in Mumbai, and his areas of operation were wide throughout the city.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that there is no doubt that Mir had held consultations with Dawood and his men before identifying the targets. Moreover, it was Dawood and Tiger Memon who identified the targets during the 1993 serial bombings in the city and hence, for the Mumbai 26/11 attack, his expertise would have been sought.

After holding consultations with Dawood, Mir visited India as a cricket fan. During his visit, he visited each one of these places, following which he held a series of meetings with David Headley. Mir briefed Headley about the targets that he had zeroed in on. Headley was then tasked with carrying out a detailed reconnaissance of all these targets and providing a map of the same.

Despite the many requests that were made, Pakistan has constantly denied the existence of Mir. It also later tried to pass off Mir as some cleric in their country.

However, the proof that India has been gathering clearly suggests that Mir was an ISI agent at the time of the attack.

Indian officials confirm that Mir was initially part of the Pakistan army and was later roped into the ISI. His role change was specifically in connection with the Mumbai 26/11 attack. He had overseen every detail about the attack that included recruitment, planning, logistics and also the training.

Mir roped in Major Iqbal and Major Samir Ali to train the ten terrorists.

Unravelling the mystery about the three ISI officers is crucial to nail the Pakistan establishment’s role in the attack.

What is more crucial is that these were serving officers at that time, and this makes the attack even more audacious in nature. Pakistan normally deploys retired officials to execute such attacks, but roping in serving officers only suggests how deep the conspiracy was.

While Headley spoke very little about the role of the Pakistan establishment, owing to a plea bargain deal with the FBI, a lot would now rest on Tawwahur Rana. His probe is still ongoing, and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is hopeful that Rana would help complete the puzzle.

From Rana, a lot would be expected about not just his role in the attack or his relationship with Headley.

Rana, who has confessed that he is a former Pakistan army official, would be able to provide the complete details about the role of the establishment. Most importantly, he would be able to put to rest once and for all the mystery surrounding Mir.

Officials say that Mir is an extremely dangerous person. A detailed dossier relating to Mir has to be prepared so that Pakistan is not able to use his services again.

Deploying a man of Mir’s calibre poses a huge security threat to India, as the kind of skillset he possesses was evident in the Mumbai 26/11 attack.

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