The Lashkar-e-Taiyba and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa might have disowned him, but the father of the lone Pakistani gunman arrested for the Mumbai terror attacks has admitted that the young man whose photograph was beamed by media across the world, is his son.
Amir Kasab, the father of Ajmal Amir Iman alias Ajmal Kasab, broke down as he made the admission to the influential Dawn newspaper in the courtyard of his house in Faridkot, a village of about 2,500 people in Okara district of Punjab province.
"I was in denial for the first couple of days, saying to myself it could not have been my son... Now I have accepted it. This is the truth. I have seen the picture in the newspaper. This is my son," Amir said in his first interview to the media since his son's arrest.
Britain's Observer newspaper and the BBC had earlier reported that Kasab belonged to Faridkot and had joined the Lashker-e-Tayiba some time ago.
The Observer's correspondent had located Kasab's home and gotten hold of the voters' roll which had the names of his parents Amir Kasab and Noor as well as the numbers on their national identity cards.
Reports had said that Kasab left home as a frustrated teenager about four years ago and went to Lahore in search of a job. After a brush with crime in that city, he reportedly joined the LeT.
Amir Kasab, a father of three sons and two daughters, said his son disappeared from home four years ago. "He had asked me for new clothes on Eid that I couldn't provide him. He got angry and left," he said.
As Amir talked to the Dawn's correspondents, Kasab's two sisters and a younger brother stood nearby. Their mother, wrapped in achador, lay on a nearby charpoy.
"Her trance was broken as the small picture of Kasab lying in a Mumbai hospital was shown around. They appeared to have identified their son. The mother shrunk back in her chador but the father said he had no problem in talking about the subject," the newspaper reported.
Amir said he had settled in Faridkot after arriving from the nearby Haveli Lakha many years ago. He owned the house the family lived in and made a living by selling pakoras in the streets of the village.
He pointed to a hand-cart in one corner of the courtyard and said, "This is all I have. I shifted back to the village after doing the same job in Lahore. My eldest son, Afzal, is also back after a stint in Lahore. He is out working in the fields."
Faridkot is located off a busy road and bears all the characteristics of a lower-middle class locality in a big city, the newspaper reported.
Amir said he has had little say in Kasab's life since the day his son walked out on him. He calls the people who snatched his son from him his enemies, but has no clue who these enemies are, the paper reported.
Asked why he did not look for his son all this while, he said, "What could I do with the few resources that I had?"
Media reports had said that Kasab's handlers had promised him that his family would be compensated with Rs 1,50,000 after the completion of the Mumbai mission.
Though mild-mannered, Amir became agitated at the mention of the link between his son's actions and money. "I don't sell my sons," Amir said.
Source:Rediff News
Did some Mumbai locals provide support to the Pakistani terrorists? Azam Amir Kasab, the only Pakistani terrorist nabbed alive, has revealed names and addresses of at least five people from the city who helped the terror operation.
AZAM AMIR KASAV...THE ONLY TERRORIST THAT SURVIVED
Sources said that help like, providing shelter, taking them around and showing places, passing information on police stations and nakabandhis were given by these locals. Joint commissioner of police (crime) Rakesh Maria said,"We suspect there could be local assistants but it is subject to verification. It will be very premature to comment on this at this stage as our investigations is going on.''
Kasab has told police that they were sent with a specific mission of targeting Israelis to avenge atrocities on Palestinians. This was why they targetted Nariman House, a complex meant for Israelis. Sources said Kasab's colleagues killed in the operation had stayed in Nariman House earlier.
"They have stayed in Nariman house on rental basis identifying themselves as Malaysian students.'' said a source. Police are trying to find out how Nariman House rooms were given to non-Jews. Police has taken all the records books of for verification. The second target was the CST railway station because casualties would be high.
Crime branch has also recovered several fake identity and credit cards from the belongings of dead terrorists. "All the cards are in different names and of different banks. Now we are at least trying to figure out how they procured credit cards from various banks.'' said Maria. The recovery of so many cards with different names have led Mumbai police to suspect the involvement of ISI.
Though Maria maintained only 10 terrorists had sneaked in, the two blasts in taxis in Wadi Bunder and Vile Parle have led the police to believe there could be possibility of the presence of another two or more terrorists in the city.
Azam Amir Kasav, also known as Mohammad Ajmal Mohammed Amin Kasab, looked confident in the photo above. It was taken as he walked into the Mumbai train station (CST) with the intent of killing as many people as he could. He and his partner finished their business at the station and moved on to their next target, Girgaum Chowpatty. They were stopped and engaged in a gun fight by police. Azam killed assistant police inspector Tukaram Umbale before he was shot. His partner was shot and killed during the gun battle. Azam played dead and the bodies of both men were picked up to be transported to the hospital. At some point, the police realized that Azam was breathing.
When the 21-year-old Azam arrived at the hospital he begged the medical staff there to help him. He told them that he didn’t want to die. It turned out that he was fluent in English and from from tehsil Gipalpura in Faridkot in Pakistan. He begged for his own life after indiscriminately taking the lives of whoever happened to be in the train station that morning.
After Azam’s bullet wound was treated, he was taken away by interrogators. Its reported that at first he was tight lipped, but it didn’t take long for intense questioning to loosen him up. Apparently, he has given investigators some vital information about the planning of the Mumbai attacks. He has told investigators that their plan was to blow up the Taj Hotel and they had enough explosives to do it. They wanted to create an Indian 9/11.
‘My pain has been the sight and plight of my innocent and vulnerable and completely insecure countrymen, facing the wrath of this terror attack. And my anger has been at the ineptitude of the authorities that have been ordained to look after us,’ Big B expressed in his blog.
He further says, He salutes people who have laid down their lives for us. ‘I can only but salute them and respect their sincerity in the call of duty.’
Bachchan was disgruntled over the cliche ’spirit of Mumbai’ which he said people were using to cover the traumatic experiences that the merry city underwent in recent years. Bachchan says he bows over this and wishes the spirit never ends. We too agree with you Mr. Bachchan.
Sleeping with a loaded gun under the pillow is a very dangerous thing to do. Even with utmost precaution accidents do happen. I pray to God that the gun does not go off accidentally. Otherwise a national embarrassment will turn into a national martyr. Years ago one accidental hit in the stomach (and Indira Gandhi) erased his poor track record and turned him into a star, and now it seems Big B is trying is erase his shoddy legacy and flop status, and turn into a national martyr. Poor Big B is always looking for short cuts, genuine hard work is an alien concept to him.
MORE than 80 people are dead after terrorists used grenades and automatic weapons to attack crowds at hotels, a restaurant and train station in Mumbai, India. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra state said the situation was not yet contained as commando units attempted to wrest back control of two luxury hotels, where scores of westerners are believed to being held hostage. Parts of Mumbai remained under siege, with police and gunmen exchanging gunfire at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi Trident hotels. "The situation is still not under control and we are trying to flush out any more terrorists hiding inside the two hotels," said Vilasrao Deshmukh. Gunfire and explosions were heard at the landmark Taj Mahal hotel and thick plumes of smoke rose from the building, witnesses said. There were also explosions at the Oberoi hotel and firing at a hospital where gunmen were surrounded. "The terrorists are throwing grenades at us from the rooftop of the Taj and trying to stop us from moving in," police Inspector Ashok Patil said. Police said at least 250 people were wounded in the attacks, but some reports say up to 900 were hurt in the coordinated attacks, which also targeted a railway station, hospitals, the main railway station and airport. Cafe Leopold, perhaps the most famous restaurant and hang-out for tourists in the city, also faced a series of blasts. An organisation calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen said it was behind the attacks, television channels said. The previously little known group sent an email to news organisations claiming responsibility. In Washington, the White House and US President-elect Barack Obama condemned the attacks, as did France, current president of the European Union, and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Early unconfirmed reports suggest the disaster has brought the financial capital's stock exchange to a standstill. Teams of heavily-armed men launched coordinated attacks overnight that survivors said were aimed at killing Westerners. Officials now say 86 people have been killed, and at least 120 wounded, with scores of Western hostages still being held. A previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attacks in emails to several media outlets.
Firefighters prepare to rescue employees and guests of the Taj Mahal hotel, site of one of the shootouts with terrorists early Thursday.
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