India wants SL probe Lankan link with Pakistan terror activists
by Sulochana Ramiah Mohan-August 3, 2014
India, determined to get to the bottom of the alleged terror activities by Pakistan, reportedly using Sri Lankans, had last week asked Sri Lanka to probe the information India had gathered after interrogating the terror suspects already arrested in India.
India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) New Delhi, has sent a detailed communication pertaining to information they gathered from two suspects who were arrested in India. The suspects are Tamil Nadu businessmen, identified as Tasmeen Ansari, a frequent visitor to Sri Lanka, arrested in September 2012 and a Sri Lankan Zakir Hussain, a resident of Kandy arrested in May 2014.
In the letter, addressed to the crime branch, India has listed nearly 25 points for probe.
India has urged Sri Lanka to probe the background and events pertaining to Sri Lankans involved in terrorist activities, suspected of having links with Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), which plots terror attacks in India.
Highly placed sources from NIA said the letter had been directed to the Public Administration and Home Affairs office in Sri Lanka through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hoping it would be handed over to the police crime branch.
According to him, there are 'three Sri Lankan suspects' involved in the terror plot.
India, over a period of three years, had been probing the events linked to a Pakistani diplomat who was based in a High Commission.
The interrogation of the two suspects has led to the revelation of the name of the Pakistani diplomat in question who was the visa consular in Colombo till May this year, the sources revealed.
The Pakistan High Commission claimed that the reports and information were purely false and misleading. The officials also said that the visa consular was never recalled in 2012 as Indian reports claimed.
The Pakistan High Commission said the former Visa Consular, Amir Zubair Siddiqui, in fact was serving the High Commission for more than the period any visa consular had had served and that he had completed his tenure successfully and left for Pakistan last May.
A Spokesperson for Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pakistan, Tasnim Aslam Khan, when contacted as to what measures Pakistan had taken as the diplomat's name had transpired as the 'main conspirator' and would it probe incidents linking Pakistanis and Sri Lankans involved in terror activities, told Ceylon Today that Pakistan will not comment on baseless allegations and whatever the dossier or collecting of evidence between India and Sri Lanka was not their concern.
"India's has been throwing such baseless allegations as usual at Pakistan and the atest claims that our diplomats are involved is not worth commenting," she noted.
The NIA official said, "We will not say we have sent a dossier to Sri Lanka but basically a detailed letter with background information we have collected after the suspects were arrested."
India wants Sri Lankan officials to gather all the information they need according to the sharing of information under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) that was signed in 2010.
The sources said they had sent two letters to Sri Lanka, one in December last year and another recently.
The NIA official said, "It's an ongoing investigation over the past three years into the alleged involvement of a Pakistani diplomat, former Visa Consular Siddiqui, who is suspected to be the 'main conspirator'.
Indian media revealed that Siddiqui was allegedly involved in a conspiracy and had used Ansari, telling the latter to carry out terror attacks on the US Consulate in Chennai and Israeli Consulate in Bengaluru.
Ansari was arrested after six months of surveillance in September 2012, which led to the flow of information regarding terror activities taking place involving Sri Lankans. It is alleged that Ansari had links with the Pakistani diplomat Siddiqui.
Later in May this year, Zakir Hussain who was trapped again, is alleged to have had connections with the diplomat who was based in Sri Lanka.
"We have evidence here and we need more evidence from Sri Lanka related to these persons and the details relating to the exchanges that took place with the Pakistani diplomat who had served in Sri Lanka till May. He has been placed under India's surveillance and we want to get to the bottom of it," highly placed sources said.
"We have also asked Sri Lanka to probe and proceed with furnishing details to us." When asked whether India has given a time frame to Sri Lanka, he said 'sooner the better' and expressed hope that Sri Lanka would consider the matter seriously.
"Under the Treaty, from time to time, the NIA has been closely working with the central authority of Sri Lanka," he said.
"We need to find all evidence behind the terror plot in India. So far, it's something that had been prevented from happening and we cannot comprehend how serious the terror strike plot would be," he added.
Pakistan has been extremely quiet over many events taking place in Sri Lanka lately.
Sri Lanka's immigration authorities were directed to stop issuing visa on arrival to Pakistanis, on being warned of 'dangers'.
Sri Lanka has also taken stern steps to deport Pakistanis and Afghanistan asylum seekers.
Immigration officials recently told Ceylon Today, that Pakistanis were involved in nefarious activities that included drug trafficking and were arriving in Sri Lanka on tourist visa and then claiming asylum. They had turned out to be 'too much of a headache'.
The diplomat's involvement was exposed in several Indian media, and the 'Deccan Chronicle' said Ansari was in touch with Haji, a Tamil-speaking Muslim from Colombo who knew Siddiqui, and his second in command, Shaji.
Siddiqui is alleged to have used Ansari in 2012, to obtain the videos of the Nagapattinam Port and Mallipattinam in Tamil Nadu, a traditional landing point.
The diplomat's name again figured after IB, on a tip-off from its Malaysian counterparts, foiled an attempt by Pakistan's ISI, to carry out terror attacks on the two foreign consulates in India.
This May, a Sri Lankan Zakir Hussian, arrested on a tip-off from the Intelligence Bureau, was accused of carrying out reconnaissance of the two consulates.
He revealed that he had been hired by diplomat Siddiqui and revealed that ISI planned to conduct the reconnaissance.
Hussain has confessed that the instructions were from the Colombo based Pakistani diplomats.
The case was eventually transferred to NIA. Sleuths had recovered pictures of the US and Israeli consulates, claiming that those pictures had been mailed to his alleged handlers in Pakistan and its Colombo High Commission and that the Cyber signatures showed that the pictures were downloaded in a computer within the premises of the High Commission and had been shared with Lankan authorities.
by Sulochana Ramiah Mohan-August 3, 2014
India, determined to get to the bottom of the alleged terror activities by Pakistan, reportedly using Sri Lankans, had last week asked Sri Lanka to probe the information India had gathered after interrogating the terror suspects already arrested in India.
India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) New Delhi, has sent a detailed communication pertaining to information they gathered from two suspects who were arrested in India. The suspects are Tamil Nadu businessmen, identified as Tasmeen Ansari, a frequent visitor to Sri Lanka, arrested in September 2012 and a Sri Lankan Zakir Hussain, a resident of Kandy arrested in May 2014.
In the letter, addressed to the crime branch, India has listed nearly 25 points for probe.
India has urged Sri Lanka to probe the background and events pertaining to Sri Lankans involved in terrorist activities, suspected of having links with Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), which plots terror attacks in India.
Highly placed sources from NIA said the letter had been directed to the Public Administration and Home Affairs office in Sri Lanka through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hoping it would be handed over to the police crime branch.
According to him, there are 'three Sri Lankan suspects' involved in the terror plot.
India, over a period of three years, had been probing the events linked to a Pakistani diplomat who was based in a High Commission.
The interrogation of the two suspects has led to the revelation of the name of the Pakistani diplomat in question who was the visa consular in Colombo till May this year, the sources revealed.
The Pakistan High Commission claimed that the reports and information were purely false and misleading. The officials also said that the visa consular was never recalled in 2012 as Indian reports claimed.
The Pakistan High Commission said the former Visa Consular, Amir Zubair Siddiqui, in fact was serving the High Commission for more than the period any visa consular had had served and that he had completed his tenure successfully and left for Pakistan last May.
A Spokesperson for Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pakistan, Tasnim Aslam Khan, when contacted as to what measures Pakistan had taken as the diplomat's name had transpired as the 'main conspirator' and would it probe incidents linking Pakistanis and Sri Lankans involved in terror activities, told Ceylon Today that Pakistan will not comment on baseless allegations and whatever the dossier or collecting of evidence between India and Sri Lanka was not their concern.
"India's has been throwing such baseless allegations as usual at Pakistan and the atest claims that our diplomats are involved is not worth commenting," she noted.
The NIA official said, "We will not say we have sent a dossier to Sri Lanka but basically a detailed letter with background information we have collected after the suspects were arrested."
India wants Sri Lankan officials to gather all the information they need according to the sharing of information under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) that was signed in 2010.
The sources said they had sent two letters to Sri Lanka, one in December last year and another recently.
The NIA official said, "It's an ongoing investigation over the past three years into the alleged involvement of a Pakistani diplomat, former Visa Consular Siddiqui, who is suspected to be the 'main conspirator'.
Indian media revealed that Siddiqui was allegedly involved in a conspiracy and had used Ansari, telling the latter to carry out terror attacks on the US Consulate in Chennai and Israeli Consulate in Bengaluru.
Ansari was arrested after six months of surveillance in September 2012, which led to the flow of information regarding terror activities taking place involving Sri Lankans. It is alleged that Ansari had links with the Pakistani diplomat Siddiqui.
Later in May this year, Zakir Hussain who was trapped again, is alleged to have had connections with the diplomat who was based in Sri Lanka.
"We have evidence here and we need more evidence from Sri Lanka related to these persons and the details relating to the exchanges that took place with the Pakistani diplomat who had served in Sri Lanka till May. He has been placed under India's surveillance and we want to get to the bottom of it," highly placed sources said.
"We have also asked Sri Lanka to probe and proceed with furnishing details to us." When asked whether India has given a time frame to Sri Lanka, he said 'sooner the better' and expressed hope that Sri Lanka would consider the matter seriously.
"Under the Treaty, from time to time, the NIA has been closely working with the central authority of Sri Lanka," he said.
"We need to find all evidence behind the terror plot in India. So far, it's something that had been prevented from happening and we cannot comprehend how serious the terror strike plot would be," he added.
Pakistan has been extremely quiet over many events taking place in Sri Lanka lately.
Sri Lanka's immigration authorities were directed to stop issuing visa on arrival to Pakistanis, on being warned of 'dangers'.
Sri Lanka has also taken stern steps to deport Pakistanis and Afghanistan asylum seekers.
Immigration officials recently told Ceylon Today, that Pakistanis were involved in nefarious activities that included drug trafficking and were arriving in Sri Lanka on tourist visa and then claiming asylum. They had turned out to be 'too much of a headache'.
The diplomat's involvement was exposed in several Indian media, and the 'Deccan Chronicle' said Ansari was in touch with Haji, a Tamil-speaking Muslim from Colombo who knew Siddiqui, and his second in command, Shaji.
Siddiqui is alleged to have used Ansari in 2012, to obtain the videos of the Nagapattinam Port and Mallipattinam in Tamil Nadu, a traditional landing point.
The diplomat's name again figured after IB, on a tip-off from its Malaysian counterparts, foiled an attempt by Pakistan's ISI, to carry out terror attacks on the two foreign consulates in India.
This May, a Sri Lankan Zakir Hussian, arrested on a tip-off from the Intelligence Bureau, was accused of carrying out reconnaissance of the two consulates.
He revealed that he had been hired by diplomat Siddiqui and revealed that ISI planned to conduct the reconnaissance.
Hussain has confessed that the instructions were from the Colombo based Pakistani diplomats.
The case was eventually transferred to NIA. Sleuths had recovered pictures of the US and Israeli consulates, claiming that those pictures had been mailed to his alleged handlers in Pakistan and its Colombo High Commission and that the Cyber signatures showed that the pictures were downloaded in a computer within the premises of the High Commission and had been shared with Lankan authorities.
