Readers will note from the Ali Sethi piece above the following interaction:
I asked Ali Raza if he thought there was a chance that the attack was the work of terrorists or criminals. "There is a chance," he admitted. "But it could be the agencies. It could be the government. It could be India also."
I asked, "What about other people?"
"Which other people?"
I said, "The people who kidnap journalists and bomb the homes of politicians and slit the throats of government spies."
He was thinking about it.
What do you make of that?? Hain ji? Khair, one more piece of the puzzle, lets move on to the PML-N "media" man, readers are encouraged to read CRITICALLY :
Clue to sponsors of attack may be found today
Thursday, March 05, 2009
By Rauf Klasra
ISLAMABAD: An investigating team comprising top officials of the ISI, the MI, the IB and other agencies may be able to resolve by Thursday the multi-million dollar mystery who had sponsored the daring attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore.
A top expert, who knows which terrorist outfit uses what sort of weapons in such attacks, is rushing to Lahore from Islamabad to join the investigators, The News learnt late on Wednesday night.
Despite the passage of almost 48 hours, top intelligence agencies surprisingly remain clueless about the identities of the 12 assailants, their sponsors and whereabouts. The ISI, the MI, the IB and police officers have joined hands to resolve the mystery to salvage their lost prestige.
Meanwhile, the ISI, the MI, the IB, the Special Branch, the CID and police officials have compiled a preliminary report, which will be submitted to the government on Friday. But the date of submission could be extended if no clue was found to this daring assault, which has stunned the whole nation.
A senior bomb disposal expert with vast knowledge of different extremist outfits and the kind of arms they use will reach Lahore on Thursday. This expert may help resolve the mystery as to who was behind the daring attack on the Sri Lankans.
Sources in the interior ministry disclosed in a bid to find clues to the attackers, data of mobile phone towers of different companies operating in Gulberg area was being collected on a war footing. The calls made from mobile phones were being screened to find out who had carried out the sophisticated operation.
Listen, the prestige of our intelligence agencies touting their conduct of successful overseas operations, particularly in Afghanistan during the Jihad days is now at stake. The whole world is watching whether we would be able to trace the killers still at large, one interior ministry official said.
He added now
it was fast emerging that the terrorists had left not a single meaningful clue on the scene of the crime, which might have helped them identify the assailants. In what could be described as a huge threat to the security of entire Lahore, the official said, the attackers were still at large. Officials of the security agencies, caught off-guard on Tuesday, were said to be trying to recover from the shock.
Sources said the
Military Intelligence had sent to the Lahore corps commander on Saturday a report warning of a terror attack in the city in the next 48 hours. But the MI report did not specify the nature of the threat or the potential target because the planners gave the agency no further details.
This report was forwarded later in the day to offices of the Punjab IGP, chief secretary and home secretary, where it remained buried under files. Intelligence agencies, conducting separate investigations into the tragedy, have decided to meet in the evening to share their information with DIG Salahuddin Niazi. Sources said routine arrests of suspects were being made from different areas.
It was learnt that the policemen tasked with protecting the Sri Lankan team had not undergone proper commando training. None of them had received training in shooting at a vehicle-borne target. That was why, the sources added, the policemen killed in the attack could not fire a single shot at the killers who conveniently escaped after completing their operation.
Another difficulty, the investigators were encountering, relates to the collection of forensic evidence from the scene. The untrained police officials started seizing arms and ammunition left behind by the attackers without realising the importance of forensic evidence. But sources pointed out some fingerprints still available on weapons were being examined by experts.
The
focus of investigators was on local groups, one official said, adding the perpetrators belonged to Lahore and spoke fluent Punjabi. The investigators, not ready to rush to any conclusion, avoid pointing an accusing finger at any particular outfit.
Asked why the MI did not go after the attackers despite having information about the terrorist activity, the source replied they had to understand the system of collecting such information. He explained informants within certain outfits only dropped hints to avoid being caught in case their operation was foiled.
The informant had just sent a simple message to an MI official, who forwarded it to the Punjab government on Saturday, according to the official, who said the message was perceived as a warning of a possible suicide attack.