Thaindian News

London, Dec 6 (IANS) The alleged mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks — Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi — was running his group while still in prison in Pakistan, said US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks.

According to BBC, the claim is in a 2009 diplomatic message from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Lakhvi was responsible for the Lashkar’s “military budget” as of July 2009, the cable said.

He was arrested in Pakistan for his alleged involvement in the November 26-28, 2008, terrorist attack on Mumbai in which 166 people were killed.

The leaked cable, sent Aug 10, 2009, by Clinton, said that Lakhvi, along with the group’s founder Hafiz Saeed, “continued to run” LeT “despite being detained for their role” in the Mumbai attacks.

Hafiz Saeed, who was held after the Mumbai attacks but released without charge, now heads Jamaat-ud-Dawa, an Islamic charity widely accused of being a front for LeT.

The leaked cable said Lakhvi was responsible for the group’s annual $5.2 million “military operations budget” as of mid-July 2009, a time when he was in prison.

“He reportedly used the money to purchase all materials required for LeT operations other than weapons and ammunition,” the cable said, quoting a source.

The message went on to allege that Lakhvi and Saeed “planned, directed and executed” the LeT’s attacks in South Asia.

It said the group is “likely to have used some funds collected in the name of Jamaat-ud-Dawa’s charitable activities in support of multiple LeT terrorist operations, including the November 2008 Mumbai attacks”.