New Delhi / Washington:
As Pakistan struggles against accusations that sections of its army and powerful spy service are linked to terrorists, a new chargesheet filed in America related to 26/11 suggests just that. It has named a "Major Iqbal" who was in service with the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) when Mumbai was attacked. Major Iqbal allegedly was a main conspirator in the 26/11 conspiracy; he's also accused of working to bomb other public places in India.
The charges against Major Iqbal are part of a case that's centered upon Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian citizen, who has already been accused of helping David Coleman Headley plan and execute the Mumbai attacks. Mr Rana ran an immigration services agency which allegedly provided Mr Headley with the cover he needed to survey the places in Mumbai that would later be targeted during India's worst-ever terror attack.
166 people were killed after ten terrorists from Pakistan sailed into Mumbai in 2008 and opened fire at five-star hotels, a hospital, and the city's main train station.
Mr Headley was arrested along with Mr Rana in October 2009 in the US for plotting an attack against the Danish paper that published cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed.
Mr Rana's trial begins in a federal courtroom in Chicago next week.
In January 2010, Mr Rana was indicted along with a retired Pakistani military officer named Abdur Rahman Hashim Syed and Ilyas Kashmiri, one of the most potent leaders of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and later the Al Qaeda.
The second chargesheet in Mr Rana's case filed on April 25 names Sajid Mir, Abu Qahafa, Mazhar Iqbal, Major Iqbal and a man referred to as " Lashkar Member D."
(Read: Official information on the five accused named in the second chargesheet)Major Iqbal or Abu Alqama was allegedly in service while also operating as one of the Lashkar's main commanders in charge of Kashmir. He has been accused of being a key conspirator in the Mumbai attacks. When Mumbai was under siege, he allegedly instructed the ten terrorists at work in Mumbai to kill more people. Pakistan has so far not reacted to the fact that Major Iqbal was with its ISI.
Mazhal Iqbal aka Abu Alqama, now on trial in Pakistan for 26/11, was a senior Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander who is accused of training the ten terrorists who carried out the attacks in Mumbai.
Sajid Majeed is also a senior LeT commander who heads the terror group's "India set up." He was allegedly Mr Headley's main handler and provided him with financial and logistic support so Mr Headley could survey the targets for the Mumbai attacks. He's also thought to be a close associate of Mr Rana's, and has yet to be traced in Pakistan.
Also absconding is Abu Qahafa, an LeT expert in arms and explosives. He is accused of helping the ten terrorists who landed in Mumbai to use high-tech GPS systems.
A man referred to only as "Lashkar Member D" is missing. He's believed to be the operational commander of the Lashkar now, taking over from Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who is in jail in Pakistan for 26/11. Member D allegedly recruited the ten terrorists who were sent to India. He is accused of planning the Mumbai attacks from 2005 onwards, and is thought to have been one of Mr Headley's handlers till 2007.