First on The Quint: Fmr Pak Top Cop - Key 26/11 Evidence Ignored

First reported on The Quint: Fmr Pak top cop Tariq Khosa says Pakistan ignored key evidence in pursuit of 26/11 case.

Revelations by the former Director General of Pakistan’s federal police (FIA) have given India more ammo against Pakistan in the 26/11 Mumbai attack case.

The Quint was the first to report on the comprehensive list of evidence provided by former Pakistan top cop Tariq Khosa - evidence that Khosa says the Pakistani establishment has in its possession but has ignored.

In his column written for Pakistan’s newspaper Dawn, Khosa, who supervised the Mumbai 26/11 attack investigations, has called for action from Pakistan’s end in a newspaper column. Khosa headed Pakistan’s Federal Investigative Agency in 2009, when evidence was both, provided to Pakistan by India, and also gathered by investigators within Pakistan.

The Indian political class was quick to respond to the news.

I appreciate that they have accepted the truth. This will help us, I don’t think that Pakistan will accept this.
— Satyapal Singh, BJP MP and former Mumbai Police Commissioner

Pakistan should have accepted the evidence. They even refused that Kasab was given training in Pakistan.
— Tariq Anwar, NCP

This is not a new thing but a DG level officer has said it. It’s big evidence to take action against Pakistan. There is no use of any talks with Pakistan.
— Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena

Are we as a nation prepared to muster the courage to face uncomfortable truths and combat the demons of militancy that haunt our land?
— Tariq Khosa, Former Director General, Federal Investigation Agency

Tariq Khosa served as Director General, Federal Investigation Agency in 2009. As head of Pakistan’s federal police, he supervised the investigations into the Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks.

In a column in Pakistan’s daily newspaper Dawn, Khosa wrote:

Pakistan has to deal with the Mumbai mayhem, planned and launched from its soil. This requires facing the truth and admitting mistakes.

The case has lingered on for far too long.

— Tariq Khosa, Former Director General, Federal Investigation Agency

Khosa, considered an officer with integrity and impeccable character, has also handled other high profile cases such as the investigation of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, and the infamous memo-gate.

Taking exception to Pakistan’s ‘Good-Taliban, Bad-Taliban’ policy, Khosa writes,

The duality and distinction between good and bad Taliban, including all militants and terrorists, should stand removed from Miramshah to Muridke, from Karachi to Quetta.

— Tariq Khosa, Former Director General, Federal Investigation Agency

Alluding to India’s alleged role in supporting insurgents within Pakistan, Khosa adds,

Let both India and Pakistan admit their mistakes and follies and learn to co-exist while trying to find solutions to their thorny issues through peaceful means.

— Tariq Khosa, Former Director General, Federal Investigation Agency

Khosa cites seven key pieces of ‘evidence’ that Pakistani prosecutors have ignored while pursuing the 26/11 trials in Pakistan. The FIA investigation in Pakistan led by Khosa, had for instance, confirmed -

- the attackers’ Pakistani origin

- the existence of the planning and logistical centre in Sindh

- the ops room in Karachi, from where the ‘handlers’ of the 10 terrorists directed the attack on a minute-to-minute basis on phone

Calling the Mumbai case “unique” Khosa writes “proving conspiracy in a different jurisdiction is more complex and requires a far superior quality of evidence.” He adds,

Therefore, the legal experts from both sides need to sit together rather than sulk and point fingers.

— Tariq Khosa, Former Director General, Federal Investigation Agency

Read Tariq Khosa’s full column for Dawn here.