Sources said the response is “comprehensive and detailed” and includes CDs of the intercepted voice recordings of the conversation between the Mumbai attack terrorists and their handlers, Abu Hamza and Kahfa. The external affairs ministry said India had responded to all the 30 questions asked by Pakistan. The response also includes fingerprints of the terrorists and the other detail that Pakistan wanted.
India has answered all the 30 questions but an additional query from Pakistan on former ATS chief Hemant Karkare and oblique references to the Samjhauta express through Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit do not figure in India’s response. Pakistan had asked for an eyewitness account of Karkare’s killing as he was investigating the Malegaon case and Purohit’s involvement.
India’s response comes at a time when Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is trying to defuse a political crisis that could even end in his own ouster. Sources said they expected the investigations and the legal process to move forward despite the preoccupation of the Zardari regime.
In a bid to satisfy Pakistan’s demand for evidence that would stand up in a court of law, the dossier also contains proof along with detailed responses to each of the 30 questions. “We expect Pakistan to prosecute and punish the accused. It is a comprehensive document supported by documentary evidence,” said home minister P Chidambaram, who handed over the dossier to external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee.
The MEA forwarded the dossier to Pakistan through the Pakistani High Commission. The home minister also said the response to every question had been supported by detailed evidence including documents, CDs and forensic reports. “If Pakistan is serious about investigating the origins of the dastardly act, these answers provide a solid base,” Mr Chidambaram said.
A ministry of external affairs statement asked Pakistan to take credible action. “It is our hope and expectation that this step will lead to bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice and to credible action by government of Pakistan against the infrastructure of terrorism in that country,” it said.
Pakistan had asked India to hand over the response by March 13 citing legal issues related to the detention of the six Mumbai attack suspects in Pakistan. In its questionnaire, Pakistan had asked a range of questions ranging from DNA samples, postmortem reports and fingerprints of all the Mumbai attack terrorists to the forensic analysis of the Thuraya phone and other phones used by the 10 terrorists who carried out the attacks.
It also sought details of the interrogation of two Indian nationals who were arrested for providing mobile phone SIMs to the terrorists. After meeting Mr Menon and collecting the dossier, the Pakistani high commissioner said: “It is
helpful to us to carry out our investigations.”
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