Tahawwur Rana, a key conspirator in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, which killed 166 people, has claimed that he was not only the Pakistani Army’s “trusted asset” but was even sent to Saudi Arabia on a “covert mission”, as reported by Mumbai Mirror. Rana, who is in NIA custody, made these startling confessions during his first interrogation by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch.
Rana, who was extradited from the United States to India in April this year, also confessed that he served in Pakistan’s “sensitive military areas”, including Sindh, Balochistan, Bahawalpur and the Siachen-Balotra sector.
He also said that it was his idea to open the First Immigration Centre in Mumbai, which was managed by Mahrukh Bharucha. Funds, he said, were sent to Headley as part of business expenses.
He also said that he knows Abdul Rehman Pasha, Sajid Mir and Major Iqbal. Pasha is a retired Major in the Pakistani Army and is accused of involvement with LeT and is alleged to have coordinated with Headley in planning the 26/11 attacks. He is also linked to the foiled plot against the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in response to the publication’s cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.
Sajid Mir is a senior LeT commander and is the chief planner of the attacks. He was initially reported dead by Pakistan, who was later “brought back to life” and arrested.
Major Iqbal, a Pakistani intelligence officer allegedly involved in the planning and execution of the attacks, was also a handler for Headley.
Rana also admitted to knowing Rajaram Rege, the man arrested for surveilling TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee. He claimed that Rege, who had previously met David Headley, had demanded a bribe, though he did not specify what the bribe was for.
Headley was trained by LeT
Rana also revealed that terrorist David Headley, who conducted reconnaissance for the attacks, was trained by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) between 2003 and 2004.
The outlet further reported that Rana made revelations about Headley, claiming that he underwent three trainings with LeT between 2003 and 2004. The names of some of the courses were Aam and Khas.
Who is Tahawwur Rana?
Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 64, is a Pakistani-born Canadian national and a former medical officer in the Pakistan Army. Rana, who is originally from Chichawatni in Pakistan’s Sahiwal district, did his schooling at Rainiaz High School and then attended Cadet College Hasan Abdai in Pakistan’s Punjab, where Headley was his classmate.
Rana moved to Germany in 1993 for further studies and then to England. He migrated to Canada in the late 1990s and obtained Canadian citizenship. There, he started a real estate business and was also operating a grocery store.