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Intel - Terrorism
Attacks - Indian Parliament Attack

"In God we trust.
All others we monitor."

• Afzal, who had disclosed during interrogation that JeM commander Ghazi Baba is based in Pahalgam in South Kashmir, is expected to lead a Delhi police team to militant hideouts there, police sources said on Saturday. Ghazi Baba is said to be the mastermind behind the December 13 attack on Parliament.

• "In February 2001, he was contacted by one Tariq, a close associate of Ghazi baba alias doctor who has his base in the Adu hills in Pahalgam. Ghazi baba is the top commander of the Jaish in Kashmir." "Tariq told him that under pressure from the ISI, Masood Azhar and Lashkar chief Zaki-ur-Rehman had joined hands to launch a suicide attack in Delhi with the LeT providing all necessary support," Sharma said.

• Investigations into the December 13 terrorist attack have revealed that the conspirators had posed as tourists to take pictures of Parliament with a digital camera. Though earlier it was believed that the militants had used television pictures to generate a visual topography of Parliament, investigators have now found that they used as many as 22 exposures from a sophisticated digital camera to plan their way around the complex. The shots were taken between 1030 and 1130 hours when VVIPs, including Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, visit Parliament for the question hour." Mohammed Afzal, Shaukat Hussain and Mohammed posed as tourists near Vijay Chowk and clicked the pictures," an investigating officer said. These pictures were later fed into a laptop for a detailed study of presence of armed guards at various times in and around Parliament.

• The commissioner confirmed that the terrorists had made several rounds of the Parliament House complex and observed the security arrangements.

• Loophole 1: Every car that enters Parliament must have a car pass that is issued after a police verification of the details submitted. The car pass has the registration number of the car written on it and is taped to the windshield of the car. While security officials check the pass, they do not actually tally the registration number on the pass with the numberplate of the car. Result: Since the car pass is taped onto the MP's car, it can be stolen and stuck onto another car. Improper verification procedures can mean that a non-MP's car can be used with a stolen car pass to enter Parliament.
• Loophole 2: At the car park, which is barely 100 yards from the Parliament gates, security officials check the car pass. But they do not check the occupants of the car. So, even as the car is parked and the occupant MP exits the car, other occupants of the car can continue to sit inside it. Result: This can result in a scenario where the occupants of the car can drive it at high speed at the right moment and ram it into the passing cavalcade of an MP.

• Loophole 3: The notice office (which among other things takes the questions that MPs want to ask in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha) is the first after the entrance from the main gate. MPs who get an unauthorized visitor can plead with security officials to let the visitor go a few steps to the notice office that is immediately to the right and the left of the entrance. Result: Once inside the notice office, an unauthorized visitor can slowly lose himself inside the Parliament building and move freely around the premises unless he is stopped by alert security personnel.
• Loophole 4: Every MP's car has a red light on it and four to five security guards who carry automatic weapons on them. If a car has the car pass and if the guards are in uniform then they are not asked for personal identification. Result: An empty car carrying only armed personnel, masquerading as security officers, can get access to the steps of Parliament.

Mohammed Afroz

• Police Commissioner M N Singh on Thursday said the Centre had been warned by the Mumbai police some days back about a possible terrorist attack on Parliament. Singh told reporters that the Centre had been briefed about a terrorist conspiracy following information gathered on the basis of the interrogation of Mohammed Afroz, a suspected Al Qaeda militant, who was nabbed in Navi Mumbai recently.

• Following the ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India, Afroz was caught and had confessed to having been part of a larger conspiracy that led to the attack on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in the United States. Parliament House was also on their hit list, he had said.

• Subhash Malhotra, owner of the house in Gandhi Vihar in Mukherjee Nagar, which was taken on rent by the terrorists, and Virendra Pal, a local property dealer, were arrested under section 188 for not having informed the police about the tenants, police sources told the Press Trust of India. As per the rules, a landlord is duty-bound to inform the police about new tenants. But Malhotra did not do so. He had rented out his house a month before the attack.

• Shaukat Hussain, alias Shaukat Guru, is also a graduate. He owned a truck -- No HR-38-E-6733 -- which was used to bring fruit from the Valley and sell them in Delhi. It was this truck that was used to transport the fidayeen to Delhi for the attack.

• The car was purchased two days before the attack from a dealer in Karol Bagh in central Delhi.
• The police teams are questioning Harvinder Singh and Harpal Singh, the owners of Lucky Traders, which had sold the ambassador car to the terrorists on December 11 for Rs 110,000. The two brothers claim that they rushed to the police the moment they learnt that the car they sold had been used by the terrorists in the attack.

• Shaukat had arranged safe hideouts for the terrorists in Christian Colony and Gandhi Vihar areas of Mukherjee Nagar in north Delhi.

• About the five slain terrorists, he said they appeared to be natives of Pakistan's Punjab province as they conversed in Punjabi. Mohammed and two others - Raja and Rana - used to speak on telephone to people in Pakistan. He said adding that Mohammed was frequently on the internet chatting with contacts in Pakistan, Dubai and other places in the United Arab Emirates.

• About the mobile phones recovered from the killed militants, the sources said several phone calls were made by the suicide squad to Karachi, Dubai and Germany.
• The sources said that the militants were under clear instructions not to call Pakistan directly and that is why they routed their telephone calls either from Dubai or Germany.

• Top intelligence officials assisting the Delhi Police sleuths in their investigation of the suicide attack on Parliament House on Thursday believe that the attackers had a collaborator in Delhi. Delhi Police Commissioner Ajay Raj Sharma confirmed this at a press conference held on Thursday evening. "Surely someone had given them shelter in Delhi. The special branch of the Delhi Police is investigating the crime, and we would have clear picture in next two or three days," Sharma said.

• The five suicide attackers left the Mukherjee Nagar house of Shaukat for Parliament on the morning of December 13 in a white ambassador car, which they had bought on December 11 from Lucky Motors, Sharma said. The five suicide attackers left the Mukherjee Nagar house of Shaukat for Parliament on the morning of December 13 in a white ambassador car, which they had bought on December 11 from Lucky Motors, Sharma said.

• "These people went to the airport first, but later changed their mind and headed towards Parliament," Sharma said.

• Both Houses were adjourned about 40 minutes before the strike, but several Union ministers and hundreds of MPs were still inside.

• Home ministry and parliament identification stickers were displayed on the vehicle
• The car was registered in Delhi (DL-03 CJ-1527), and belongs to a senior Lok Sabha parliament member from Maharashtra
• It has now emerged that the militants, who attacked Parliament House on Thursday morning, arrived in a white ambassador, which had a red light on top. The car appeared like it was the official vehicle of some VIP
• Delhi Police Commissioner Ajay Raj Sharma clarified that the home ministry sticker on the white ambassador car used by the terrorists was a fake one. "When a suspicious security guard tried to stop them, they turned left from the main gate and reached the place where Vice President Krishna Kant's car was parked. Finding that the next gate was closed, they hurriedly backed the car and rammed into the vice president's car," he said. "This enraged the security officials who tried to catch the terrorists. Immediately, the terrorists started firing and abandoned the vehicle and ran towards gate number nine. Three of them climbed the wall and managed to come to the other side of the Parliament complex, while two of them ran towards gate number one and gate number five respectively. While the security officials killed the other four in a long gun battle, the terrorist at gate number one was injured by a bullet, and he later blew himself up to evade arrest," Sharma added.

• Usually there are a lot of Ambassadors with red lights coming into the Parliament premises. Those inside the car are not checked. They only see the car from outside, but the people are not checked.
• They also wore the Delhi police uniform.
• Suddenly, I saw many people firing at each other. Some of those firing were in police uniforms and others were in civilian clothes.
• The car belongs to a private firm, which has its office in India Habitat Centre in south Delhi. Though the car was sold by the company recently, its ownership papers are still in the name of this private firm.
• They said preliminary investigations point out that the car was purchased by two of the suspected terrorists and they gave a Sopore, Baramulla address...The ownership of the car has been traced to Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited, but the company says it had sold the car sometime back.

• Intelligence officials believe that the five militants who attacked the Parliament House on Thursday intended to cause blasts by detonating explosives they were carrying in their car and bags.
• A local store was used to source rope, intended to tie up hostages, as well as dry fruits and nuts to be consumed in the event of a prolonged hostage-negotiation process.

• "We have recovered a large quantity of eatables from their person, it is obvious that they were prepared for a long haul," he said.

• The terrorists who attacked Parliament on December 13 had orders to kill all MPs present in the premises and also anyone who came in their way, a suspect in the case revealed in interviews to television channels on Thursday. In a potentially damning indictment of Pakistan's role in the attack on Parliament, terrorist suspect Mohammed Afzal told two leading television news channels in separate interviews that all the five attackers were Pakistani nationals and were in regular touch with their handlers and families across the border until December 12.Afzal, who claimed to be the pointman between the Jaish-e-Mohammad commander in India Ghazi Baba and the five terrorists, told STAR News and Aaj Tak in separate interviews that Mohammed, the leader of the gang, was told to enter the Lok Sabha, attack MPs and finish whoever comes in the way.

• There are three entrances to the main building. Gate 12 from where the chairman of the Rajya Sabha (the vice-president) enters, Gate 1 from where members of Parliament enter and Gate 5 from where the prime minister enters. The firing took place outside all the three important gates. But the militants could not enter the Parliament building. They were checked at the gates itself. When firearms and a bomb were found on one of the militants, the police started firing.

Fallen police officer

• ...one of them, who apparently had explosives strapped to his body, blew himself up.
• Fernandes said under the hail of gunfire, the other terrorists rushed towards Gate number 5 and 8. Three of them were killed outside gate number 8 and one outside gate number 5.
• Mohammed, leader of the attack on Parliament on December 13, was none other than Sunny Ahmed Qazi alias Burger, who was involved in the hijack of Indian Airlines Flight IC-814 to Kandahar in December 1999..."Afzal, the Jaish-e-Mohammed's coordinator in Delhi, said during a brief interrogation that Mohammed had told him that he was one of the hijackers of IC-814, and that his code name was Burger."...'Burger' was seen as the mastermind behind the hijacking of IC-814.

• Within seconds, the terrorists started hurling grenades, and some watch and ward staff personnel, who were with me, said I should run away to safety.
• though the leader of the five terrorists who carried out the December 13 attack on Parliament was a Kashmiri, the rest were Pakistanis. The five terrorists who carried out the attack were led by a Pakistani national - Mohammad, he said. The other members of the team were Raja, Haider, Rana and Abu Hamza, he said. Mohammad was the one who blew himself up,"
• The members of the suicide squad, which carried out the actual attack, were Mohammed (leader), Abu Hamza, Haider alias Tufial, Rana and Raja, all active militants of the JeM, Sharma said.

Delhi police commando runs for cover

• In the ensuing confusion, with bullets raining all over the place, some people started shouting Attangwadi, Attangwadi (terrorists, terrorists) and started running towards gate number 12.

• The army was called in. Black Cat commandos and police personnel were rushed to the spot.

• Contrary to reports that the terrorists involved in Thursday's attack on Parliament entered the complex through the Vijay Chowk gate, images captured on the close circuit television reveal that they entered through the main gate from the Parliament Street side. In a blow-by-blow account captured on the close circuit television of Parliament, the white Ambassador car with a red light, bearing number DL3CJ 1527, is seen entering the complex from the Parliament Street side. It then speeds towards gate number 12, used by the members of Rajya Sabha, where J P Yadav, security assistant of the watch and ward staff, signals it to stop. With the driver showing no signs of slowing down, Yadav flashes an alert message on his walkie-talkie. Seconds later, the terrorists shoot Yadav down from the moving car. [Having received Yadav's message and seen the car speeding through the main gate, at 11.42 am Joint Secretary (Security) Maheepati ordered closure of all gates of the Parliament House building.] The terrorists stop the car near Gate 11, which is used by the vice-president. One of them rushes towards the main gate throwing grenades and ultimately blows himself up in the porch. The other terrorists move towards gate nos 10, 9 and 8. Exchange of fire takes place between gate 11 and 8 and four Delhi police personnel and one gardener are shot dead by the militants. Having heard the gun shots, security personnel open fire from the Vijay Chowk-side gate. Militants return fire, killing one Central Reserve Police Force woman constable. Terrorists face stiff resistance from the security forces at Gate No 9 and three of them are taken out by CRPF jawans. The fifth terrorist runs towards gate no 5 hurling grenades and is shot dead by CRPF personnel.

• Seventy-five minutes after the attack, the Parliament building continued to be sealed as security forces were said to be searching for one of the militants holed up inside the complex.
• All entry and exit points were sealed and security forces were engaged in a lock-down and mop-up operation.

• Home Minister Advani and other senior ministers were moved to a secure location within the Parliament complex in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

• Every car leaving the premises was being thoroughly searched by security guards. Those with official Parliament label were allowed to go outside after their identity cards had been checked.

• Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has convened an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on Thursday afternoon to discuss the terrorist attack on Parliament House in New Delhi.
• Following is the text of the resolution adopted by the Union Cabinet on the terrorist attack on Parliament House: "At an emergency meeting today, held under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet reviewed this morning's events in Parliament. "The Cabinet strongly condemns this dastardly assault. It has been an attack not just on a building but on what is the very heart of our system of governance, on what is the symbol and the keystone of the largest democracy in the world. "By the attack, the terrorists have yet again flung a challenge at the country. "The nation accepts the challenge. We will liquidate the terrorists and their sponsors wherever they are, whoever they are -- as our valiant security forces have done in this particular instance. "We join the country in paying our homage to the seven personnel who have laid down their lives so that the country prevails. "The first requisite for the battle is that each of us be vigilant, and that all of us remain united. The assault is yet another reminder that each of us must measure the issue we take up against the challenge that confronts the country."

• The Army has been deployed in around Parliament House, the prime minister's residence and North and South Blocks, where key ministries are located, Defence Minister George Fernandes said today. The move comes in the wake of the terrorist attack on Parliament House earlier in the day. The deployment would be carried out in the perimeter of Parliament House, he said adding that the Army would also guard the residences of the home minister and leader of the Opposition.

• Security was enhanced at the residences of the prime minister, home minister and the leader of the opposition. All the states were asked to beef up security at key installations, Advani told reporters.

• Throughout Thursday night, the Delhi police stopped vehicles in the city and carried out searches.

• Security has also been tightened around the Red Fort -- which was attacked by terrorists in December last year. A high alert has been sounded at the Indira Gandhi International Airport and the inter-state bus terminus.

• With parliamentarians being safely escorted out of Parliament premises at 1330 hours, gun-toting securitymen asked reporters to leave in order to 'sanitise' the building. "Please leave the building. Our security forces are going to completely sanitise the area since we don't want to take any chances," said the chief of the security guards at Parliament's main gate. He said the Parliament building would undergo 'total sanitisation' to ensure that no terrorist was still hiding anywhere.

• Three of them were killed outside gate number 8 and one outside gate number 5.
• Chinese made grenades, AK-47 and RDX were found at the spot, he said.
• The police officials are tight-lipped about the recovery of some foodstuff from the bags carried by the terrorists. If they were fidayeens then why were they carrying food, a senior intelligence official wondered.
• though the leader of the five terrorists who carried out the December 13 attack on Parliament was a Kashmiri, the rest were Pakistanis. The five terrorists who carried out the attack were led by a Pakistani national - Mohammad, he said. The other members of the team were Raja, Haider, Rana and Abu Hamza, he said. Mohammad was the one who blew himself up,"

• One terrorists was killed close to the gate leading to the prime minister's office following the attack on Parliament House, Defence Minister George Fernandes said on Thursday. "One of the terrorists was killed near the gate leading to the offices of the prime minister and the defence minister," Fernandes said.
• But one thing that the police is willing to confirm is the recovery of mobile phones and five SIM cards used by the terrorists to remain in touch with each other. The police also admitted that the terrorists made calls to a number of places, and each of those calls are now being verified.
• Sharma confirmed that the terrorists were armed with AK47 assult rifles, pistols, grenades, grenade launchers, explsoives, detonators, mobile phones and six sim cards. The police chief confirmed, further, that the terrorists had carried a lot of eatables in their carrybag. "It seems to indicate that they were prepared for a long mission, which was foiled by their inability to gain entry into Parliament," the top cop said.

A policeman lifts a sheet covering an unidentified militant's body at the main gate of the Parliament building in New Delhi on Thursday.

• Following is the list of security personnel who lost their lives in the incident:
• Om Prakash - Head Constable, Delhi Police
• Nanakchand - Assistant Sub Inspector, Delhi Police
• Ghanshyam - Constable, Delhi Police

• Kamlesh Kumari - Lady Constable, Central Reserve Police Force
• Jagdish Prasad Yadav - Security Assistant, Parliament House
• Deshraj - CPWD gardener

• The RML Hospital had set up a disaster-control room and the immediate focus would be on attending to the injured and then shifting them wherever required, he said.

Injured policeman

• They added that at least two explosives were defused by controlled detonation.
• Security forces and bomb disposal squads of NSG struggled for hours to remove and defuse the huge quantity of explosives. Explosives carried by the five terrorists in their bags were also defused successfully.

• Lok Sabha sources said the car laden with explosives was removed by the Delhi police from the Parliament complex at 0038 hours.

National Security Guard "Black Cats" on the scene

• "This was not just an attack on the building, it was a warning to the entire nation," he said. "We accept the challenge."

A bus quickly ferried away those MPs who could escape

• Earlier, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan condemned the terrorist attack on the Parliament House, but declined to react to reports that Pakistan-based Kashmir militant groups could be behind the shootout. "The Government of Pakistan has received with shock the news about the attack on the Indian Parliament building in New Delhi by armed intruders, which has resulted in a number of casualties," Khan said. "The government strongly and unequivocally condemns the attack," he said.

The security forces covered all entrances and exits

• Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday sent a message to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee strongly condemning the attack on Parliament House and conveying his deep condolences to the bereaved families. The message said: "I was shocked to learn about the attack earlier today by armed intruders on the Indian Parliament building in New Delhi. I have been saddened by the loss of life and injuries suffered by Indian security personnel." Conveying sympathies to the government and people of India as well as deep condolences to the bereaved families, Musharraf said, "My government strongly condemns the attack." "Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration," he said.

• United States President George Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday night telephoned Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and conveyed their outright condemnation of the terrorist attack on Parliament in New Delhi. Bush and Putin, who called up Vajpayee separately, also came out with strong expression of sympathy for the victims of the attacks, official sources said.

• United States President George Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday night telephoned Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and conveyed their outright condemnation of the terrorist attack on Parliament in New Delhi. Bush and Putin, who called up Vajpayee separately, also came out with strong expression of sympathy for the victims of the attacks, official sources said.

• The State Department also offered to help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in probing the attack. "We strongly condemn the outrageous terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament. No cause can justify the deliberate targeting of civilians. This brutal assault on the heart of Indian democracy is an attack on all democracies as well as an attempt to undermine the efforts of those seeking regional peace and stability," the State Department said in a statement. "We extend our deepest sympathies to the families of the victims of this attack as well as our condolences to India, which has suffered many terrorist attacks over the years," it said. It said, "Secretary (of State Colin) Powell spoke with Foreign Minister (Jaswant) Singh this morning to express our condolences and our determination to help the Indian authorities in identifying the attackers."

• Undeterred by the terrorist attack, Parliament will have its sitting on Friday as per schedule. This was decided at a meeting of leaders convened by Lok Sabha Speaker G M C Balayogi following the terrorist attack on Parliament House. However, it is likely that the House will adjourn after condemning Thursday's attack, though this will be decided at a meeting of parliamentary party leaders on Friday morning, Lok Sabha sources said.

• Both Houses of Parliament have been adjourned till Tuesday December 18. The adjournment came soon after a resolution was adopted unanimously, condemning the terrorist attack on Parliament on Thursday. Monday is a holiday on account of Eid. Earlier, a meeting of Leaders of Parliamentary Parties was convened by Speaker G M C Balayogi, and it was decided that the House would adjourn after paying condolences to those killed in the terrorist attack.

• The Lashkar-e-Tayiba also denied its involvement in the terrorist attack on Parliament in New Delhi and said it was a 'conspiracy' by the Indian government to 'malign' jihadi (holy war) groups. A statement issued by LeT spokesman Yahya Mujahid said neither Lashkar nor any other 'jihadi organisation is involved in these incidents'.

One of the injured

• In an almost identical reaction, the Muttahida Jihad Council (MJC), an umbrella organisation of militant outfits, said none of its constituents was involved in the attack. The LeT and another militant outfit Jaish-E-Mohammad, which were not part of MJC, were recently listed by the United States as terrorist organisations.

• He said messages in the laptop seized from the arrested persons were being deciphered. "This will prove out to be the most sensitive investigation. A lot of things will come out," he said, adding that he would not disclose anything about the probe at the present stage.

• "The European Parliament vehemently condemns the violent terrorist attack against the Indian Parliament. This attack was directed against the very institution that represents democracy and the rule of law," the 15-nation grouping said in a declaration.

• To avoid trouble over freezing of their assets by the United States, two terrorist outfits - Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Tayiba - which are suspected to be involved in the attack on Parliament House, are reported to have changed their names, according to the Pakistani media. While Jaish-e-Mohammad has changed its nomenclature to 'Al Furqan', Lashkar-e-Tayiba has renamed itself to 'Pasban-i-Ahle Hadith', the reports said. Both the outfits changed their names following their inclusion in the US state department's terrorist watch-list and visa negative list, the Dawn said in a report.

• To avoid trouble over freezing of their assets by the United States, two terrorist outfits - Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Tayiba - which are suspected to be involved in the attack on Parliament House, are reported to have changed their names, according to the Pakistani media. While Jaish-e-Mohammad has changed its nomenclature to 'Al Furqan', Lashkar-e-Tayiba has renamed itself to 'Pasban-i-Ahle Hadith', the reports said. Both the outfits changed their names following their inclusion in the US state department's terrorist watch-list and visa negative list, the Dawn said in a report.

• Meanwhile, 35kg of RDX was seized from a house in the Gandhi Vihar area of the capital on Monday morning, leading to the arrest of two more persons in connection with the case. The two -- Subhash Malhotra and Virendra Pal -- were picked up by the Delhi police following the recovery of RDX. The sources said the RDX was recovered from a residence owned by Malhotra. During the course of investigations, it was found that Tariq had also stayed in the house.

• From the Indira Basti flat, the police also seized a large quantity of ammonium nitrate, besides 17 detonators bearing the markings of the Pakistan Ordnance Factory, Wah. These were found to be of the same type as those used in the Mumbai blasts of 1993.

• The Government of India has rejected Pakistan's offer to conduct a joint inquiry into the December 13 attack on Parliament House.

• Italy has expressed solidarity with India in its fight against terrorism and has stressed on increased economic cooperation between the two nations. "Terrorism is a global phenomenon and should be wiped out, and we are with both India and United States in their fight against it (terrorism)", Italian ambassador to India Benetton Amari said in Lucknow on Monday.

• Delhi Police head constable Bijender Singh, who was injured in the December 13 terrorist attack on Parliament, died on Tuesday, police sources said. With his death, the toll in the incident has gone up to 14, including the five terrorists.

• The attack also claimed the lives of nine security personnel and caused injuries to16.The Supreme Court had said.

• Mohammad, the leader of the five killed terrorists in December 13 attack on Parliament, had stabbed to death Rupin Katyal, a honeymooner in the ill-fated Indian Airlines plane that was hijacked to Kandahar in December 1999. This was disclosed by Afzal, one of the two terrorists arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir police in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police A K Suri told Star News on telephone from Jammu.
• The Delhi police had arrested four suspects -- Mohammad Afzal, Syed Abdul Rehman Geelani, Shaukat Hussain alias Shaukat Guroo and his wife Afsan Guroo -- just days after the terrorist attack left 14 dead, including five terrorists.

• Three of the four persons arrested in connection with the attack - Mohammed Afzal, A R Geelani and Shaukat Hussain - claimed that Mohammed was actually Sunny Ahmed Qazi alias 'Burger', one of the hijackers of the IC-814 flight from Kathmandu in December 1999.'Burger' was the one who had stabbed honeymooner Rupin Katyal to death onboard the aircraft. CBI sources said the agency has in its possession a sample of the handwriting of Sunny Ahmed Qazi and asked the Delhi police to see whether any specimen of Mohammed's handwriting has been seized either from his body or any other arrested persons so that the two could be compared. They said the handwriting specimens could be forwarded to the Central Forensic and Scientific Laboratory (CFSL) for verification.

• Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi's offer to mediate between New Delhi and Islamabad is being seen by observers as further evidence that the South Asian neighbours are dangerously close to a showdown. A senior government official recalled that during the eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation between India and Pakistan in early 1987, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt had similarly offered his good offices to defuse the situation. Mubarak's mediation bid was successful, and the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the late President Zia-ul-Haq eased the tension by resorting to cricket diplomacy. The official pointed out that such well-meaning mediation offers are made only when the two inimical neighbours seem to have exhausted all other options.

• The mood in Parliament was sombre with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee telling both Houses on Wednesday that the government was keeping all its options open in the fight against terrorism and its sponsors. Just a day earlier, he had asserted that Parliament and his government's "narrowly escape" in Thursday's terrorist attack was a clear sign that they were destined to do "something big". When the prime minister repeated his statement in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, it was greeted with loud applause from the treasury benches. Union Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani told the House that "we cannot regard it [the attack on Parliament] as one more terrorist incident". This assertion coupled with Vajpayee's statement that his government was keeping all options open was taken to mean that a war was not ruled out. Opposition members too extended full support to the government, but criticised the alleged security lapses around Parliament House on December 13.Meanwhile, an army spokesman said, "The country's security is in safe hands. We will protect the country's unity and integrity with everything we have got." He did not elaborate.

• India on Thursday firmly ruled out any meeting between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on the sidelines of the SAARC summit in Kathmandu early in January, saying the climate for dialogue is not 'propitious'.''The situation engendered by the attack on Parliament House (by Pakistan-based terrorist outfits) and the lack of response from Pakistan in taking action against these groups do not create a climate for dialogue,'' an external affairs ministry spokesperson told reporters." The question of talking to Pakistan given its attitude and its unresponsiveness to the need for it to take meaningful action against terrorist groups operating from its soil against India, really does not arise," the spokesperson said. However, she said India was not ready to share the evidence it has got in the attack case with Pakistan. "We are going to share this evidence with our friends and partners who are united in their determination to fight terrorism," she said.

• The government decided to recall High Commissioner Vijay Nambiar from Islamabad 'in view of this complete lack of concern on the part of Pakistan and its continued promotion of cross border terrorism in India', she added. The day after the attack, Foreign Secretary Chokila Iyer had summoned Pakistan High Commissioner to India Ashraf Jehangir Qazi and issued a verbal demarche asking Islamabad to arrest the leadership of both the terrorist organisations, clamp a ban and freeze their accounts.

• Pakistan on Friday decided not to recall its envoy to India in response to the Indian decision to call back its high commissioner in Islamabad, Pakistan Television said. A Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman said that it was important to keep all channels of communication open in the 'present tense situation'.The statement followed a high-level meeting chaired by Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar.

• As many as sixty members of the US Congress have condemned the attack on the Indian Parliament and defended India's right to protect itself from acts of terrorism. "We are writing to express our profound shock and sadness over the terrorist attack on Parliament in New Delhi. We strongly support President Bush's decision to offer your government the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and of the State Department counter-terrorist teams in order to bring to justice those individuals responsible for this terrorist attack," they said in a letter to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. "Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, we in Congress have become acutely aware of the increasing threats we face in our seat of democracy, yet we are more determined than ever not to be intimidated by terrorism," the letter said.

• The Congressmen also supported India's right to defend itself against acts of terrorism and aggression that threatens its security. The strategic cooperation between the US and India in the area of counter-terrorism, the letter said, was based on shared democratic values and mutual desire to build a stable and prosperous world free of terrorism. "The terrorists who attacked the US and India targeted democracies that respect the rule of law, because they detest the freedoms we protect, and mistake our tolerance as a sign of weakness. As the architects of terrorism have already learned, the resolve of the civilised world will only be strengthened by our pursuit of justice in the face of their lawlessness." they said.

• United States President George W Bush, in a speech marking 100 days after the September 11 terrorist attacks, on Thursday froze the assets of terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Tayiba and a Pakistan-based 'charity' UTN, which he said is funding terrorism.Strongly condemning the December 13 attack on the Indian Parliament, Bush said, "It was only the most recent terrorist attack on the institutions of Indian democracy.""Since September 11, we have witnessed a series of terrorist attacks made at the United States and our friends around the world," Bush said.The US President said, "The legislature of the world's largest democracy was attacked. A nation founded on the principles of freedom of speech and freedom of worship was ruthlessly attacked. The terrorists killed eight innocent people."

• He also pointed out that many of India's elected representatives have been kidnapped and killed by terrorists."Last week's attack on the Indian Parliament was only the most recent terrorist attack on the institutions of Indian democracy. There was the earlier attack on the state (Jammu and Kashmir) legislative assembly in Srinagar on October 1 in which many people were killed," Bush said.He said the attacks on India's Parliament buildings remind us that whatever grievances or causes the terrorists may cite, their real target is democracy and freedom."The Lashkar-e-Tayiba is an extremist group based in Kashmir. LeT is a stateless sponsor of terrorism and it hopes to destroy relations between Pakistan and India and undermine President (Pervez) Musharraf. To achieve its purpose, LeT has committed acts of terrorism inside both India and Pakistan. It is a terrorist organisation that presents a global threat and I look forward to working with New Delhi and Islamabad in a common effort to shut it down and to bring the killers to justice," Bush said.

• Referring to Indian decision of terminating train and bus services between the two countries, he said it would create difficulties for the low-income people who use these facilities.

• Pakistan on Saturday decided to freeze the bank accounts Lashkar-e-Tayiba, a terrorist organisation active in Kashmir.The decision follows a statement by the US state department that the evidence presented by India of Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed's involvement in December 13 terrorist attack was convincing. Reports said the interior ministry of Pakistan on Friday asked all provincial governments and authorities to shut down jehadi offices of militant groups especially the LeT, the JeM and the Ummah-e-Tamir.

• Asserting that India does not have infinite patience, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh on Saturday said the recall of the Indian high commissioner in Islamabad was only a "signal" to Pakistan that it must recognise the enormity of the situation. "The step was only a signal, a message to Pakistan so that it recognises the enormity of the situation," Singh said when asked about New Delhi's decision to recall the High Commissioner Vijay Nambiar.

Indian tanks mobilize for war with Pakistan

• Asserting that India is well versed in the art of war, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Friday night said though the country prays for peace, it will not hesitate to perform its duty during the crisis. "Duniya jan le hum yudh ki kala acchi tareh jante hain, lekin hum shanti ke aradhak hain (Let the world know that we are well versed in the art of war, but we want peace)," Vajpayee said. Vajpayee said this after presenting this year's Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan memorial awards. He said peace is India's ideal goal and policy but 'if crisis knocks at our door, the country will not retract from its duty'.

• Reacting to reports that the Pakistani government was under tremendous pressure to take action against LeT, Yahya Mujahid, a spokesman of the outfit, said, "The government will have to think a thousand time before taking any action because the people of Pakistan supported it (Lashkar)." His comments followed reports that the Pakistan government had frozen the assets of Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Umma Taamir Nau, an NGO floated by retired Pakistan scientists, which allegedly had links with Osama bin Laden. Stating that the US move would not have any affect on it, Mujahid said, "Muslims will continue to support us. They think that we are fighting a holy war against the brutalities and terrorism." "We posses no assets in Europe or America, neither we have established any network across Pakistan," he said, adding there was no danger for the group as a result of the US ban. Meanwhile, LeT chief Hafeez Mohammed Saeed said, "We are only promoting education and preaching Islam in Pakistan, so there is nothing wrong with us, which could provide grounds for any action against us." "We have written a letter to the US Statement Department too some time back inviting their attention towards the fact that the Kashmiri Mujahideen were only waging a 'just struggle' for their right to self-determination... it would be unjust and unwise to impose any sanctions against them," he said. He said the US decision to freeze LeT's accounts and confiscate its assets clearly shows its tilt towards India, which wanted to 'take advantage' of the developments in Afghanistan.

• An ambush by Pakistani rangers in the Samba sector, which left three paramilitary soldiers dead, triggered a heavy exchange of fire across the International Border in Jammu region on Sunday. Defence sources said Pakistani troops ambushed a Border Security Force patrol at Gallar village on the border in Samba sector killing three BSF jawans and injuring four others. Sources said the Indian security forces retaliated by targeting Pakistani posts and managed to destroy three bunkers on the other side of the border. As guns boomed from both sides, panic gripped the civilian population and villagers fled their homes. Sources in the Indian Army said Pakistani posts in Kerni and Rajarani sector in Poonch district were shelled killing over 20 Pakistani soldiers. Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Rifles on Sunday gunned down two top militants of frontline Lashkar-e-Tayiba group, including the north Kashmir divisional commander, Saifullah.

• President George W Bush on Friday had added the Lashkar-e-Tayiba to a US list of terrorist groups. Washington had asked Pakistan to ban the group and freeze its assets.

• In late December 2001 it was reported that Pakistan's strategic command had redeployed batteries of medium-range ballistic missiles to areas close to the border with India, as part of the general military mobilization following the 13 December 2001 attack on India's Parliament by Kashmiri terrorists.

Mohammad Azfal Guru

• The main brains behind the conspiracy were Mohammed Afzal and Shaukat, residents of Sopore in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, he said..."Mohammad Afzal had joined militancy in 1990 and had undergone two-and-a-half-month intensive training programme in a terrorist camp in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir."

Police escort Mohammad Ezfal (L), Abdul Rehman Geelani (C), and Shaukut Hussain Guru (behind) after they were sentenced to death

• The Supreme Court had acquitted Geelani and Afsan Guru and reduced the death sentence awarded to Shaukat Hussain to 10-year imprisonment.

• The Supreme Court had acquitted Geelani and Afsan Guru and reduced the death sentence awarded to Shaukat Hussain to 10-year imprisonment.
• But in its 2005 verdict the SC dropped all Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) charges against Shaukat and sentenced him to 10 years in prison for concealing conspiracy to attack Parliament from police. Shaukat was, however, found guilty under Section 123 of Indian Penal Code for not informing the authorities about the plot to attack Parliament and the SC said that this was similar to waging war against the country. Hence Sahukat was awarded a 10-year jail term.

• The mastermind behind the December 13, 2001 Parliament attack, Mohammed Afzal, will be executed on October 20. Additional Sessions Judge Ravinder Kaur, signing the death warrant on Tuesday, directed the Tihar Jail authorities to make arrangements for hanging Afzal at 6 a.m. on that day.

India's Supreme Court

• New Delhi, May 14 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the petition filed by Parliament attack case convict Shaukat Hussain Guru. A Bench headed by Justice P P Naolekar said, “We do not find any reason to interfere with our verdict.” Shaukat had contended that he was convicted by the apex court on August 4, 2005, under Sections 123 (concealing conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the offence for which he was never charged.