Mumbai police today released the names of 10 alleged attackers who killed 171 persons in a three-day siege of parts of this financial hub of India. Meanwhile Pakistan has made it clear that it would not hand over the alleged planners of attack to India.
“Police said all 10 attackers were from Pakistan, most of them from Punjab province, and were between the age of 20 and 28,” reports ABC News quoting Muneeza Naqvi, Associated Press writer.
“Only one gunman, previously identified as Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, was captured alive.
“The attackers, who apparently landed by boat on the Mumbai coast the night of Nov. 26, were led by Ismail Khan, 25, … a battle-hardened Lashkar veteran. The picture released shows a broad-shouldered man with a square, determined face.” More here…
According to NYT: “The Mumbai police said Tuesday that the 10 men who carried out the terrorist attacks here last month were among 30 recruits selected for suicide missions, and that the whereabouts of the other 20 were unknown.
“The authorities had already identified two of the gunmen: Mr. Kasab, from the village of Faridkot, Pakistan, and Ismail Khan, from Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan. The eight remaining gunmen were identified by the police, sometimes only by first names and with varying degrees of location of their origins in Pakistan.
“The eight were listed as Hafiz Arshad from Multan; Javed from Okara; Shoaib from Narowal; Nazih from Faisalbad; Nasr from Faisalbad; Babr Imran from Multan; Abdul Rahman from Arifwalla; and Fahad Ullah from Dipalpur Taluka.
“The police also provided photographs of the gunmen. Five of the pictures were taken from identity cards the men were carrying; three others were morgue shots showing horribly burned and damaged faces. One attacker was burned beyond recognition, the police said.” More here…
The Times of London reports: “Pakistan, meanwhile, raided another five militant sites and detained 20 more suspects but refused to extradite any of those it has arrested to India, promising to try them on its own soil instead.
“India has demanded that Pakistan extradite 20 terror suspects, believed to include Lakhvi, Azhar and Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, LeT’s founder. That demand, however, was rejected categorically by Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister.” More here…
(ABC News Photo courtesy Composite/AP Photos)
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.