Pakistani terrorists to blame for Mumbai 2008: Ex-Pakistan NSA

New Delhi Former Pakistan National Security Advisor NSA Mahmud Ali Durrani on Monday admitted that a terrorist group from his country carried out the 2008 Mumbai terror attack and hoped Islamabad will act against detained Lashkar founder Haafiz Saeed the mastermindDurranis admission at the 19th Asian Security Conference held at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses IDSA here is the first by any highranking Pakistani official that confirms Indias stand that the LashkareTaiba plotted and executed the carnage nine years ago killing 166 Indians and foreignersI hate to admit that the 2611 Mumbai attack carried out by a terror group based in Pakistan on November 26 2008 is a classic transborder terrorist event said Durrani who was the NSA when 10 Pakistani terrorists sailed into Mumbai and committed mayhem over three daysWhile nine of the Pakistani terrorists were killed one Ajmal Kasab was caught tried and hanged Weeks after the attack Durrani told a national TV that Kasab was a Pakistani citizen a remark that cost him his job on January 7 2009I made a statement on Pakistan television which the then Pakistan government did not like and I was sacked Is that not enough proof for you Durrani also a former Pakistan Army commander told reporters at the IDSAHowever he insisted that the Pakistan government and the InsterServices Intelligence ISI have nothing to do with the mayhem masterminded by Saeed and LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi who got bail in 2016 after years of alleged sluggish trial in PakistanDurrani said as the then top security official in Pakistan he had offered assistance to India to probe the Pakistani link into the strike but unfortunately mistrust overruled common sense at that time I called my counterpart in India Shivshankar Menon and said if you allow we will send two people for investigation to sit with you in Mumbai But because of mistrust it was not allowedIndia downplayed Durranis remarks saying there was nothing new Indias stand is very well known There is nothing new in this revelation Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said Pakistans failure to conclude the trial in the case has been one of the major strains in bilateral relationsNew Delhi has maintained that it has shared evidence to prove that the 10 attackers were trained at a Lashkar camp in Pakistan Durrani also hit out at Saeed a terrorist commander who carries a 10 million reward announced by the US Hafiz Saeed has no utility I hope they Pakistan government will punish himSaeed was put under house arrest on January 30 The Lashkar founder who now runs a banned JamaatudDaawa charity was detained after the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008 but was freed by a court in 2009 Pakistan has also listed the Lashkar founder under the countrys AntiTerrorism Act a tacit acknowledgment of his links to terrorismTerror sanctuaries in Pakistan and crossborder terrorism emanating from there remained at the centre of the threeday security conference that was also attended by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Afghan NSA Hanif AtmarDurrani also admitted that Pakistan had given shelter to leaders of the Haqqani Network an Afghan guerrilla insurgent group that was also alleged to have masterminded at least one attack on an Indian mission in Afghanistan in 2008Jalaludin Haqqani was in Pakistan I dont know whether he is still there or not He said terror groups like Haqqani Network are not our friends they are our enemies Parrikar called on Asian countries to act against the most pervasive and serious challenge of terrorismThe threat of terror is transnational The response doesnt seem so he said A collective action should come from Asia The Afghan NSA asked Pakistan to act against all terror groups without distinction This he said will certainly produce great benefits not just for Pakistan but also for the region