Bahadur Ali was trained by LeT, claims India
Alleged militant says he was instructed to throw grenades while standing behind protesters
PHOTO: AFP
India on Wednesday again accused Pakistan of stoking violence in Indian-controlled Kashmir as it publicly showed a ‘confessional’ video of an alleged Pakistani militant who was arrested in the disputed Himalayan valley last month.
The video was shown a day after Pakistan had rejected Indian claims of cross-border infiltration.
Two Indian soldiers killed in Kashmir
The Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a news conference on Wednesday reiterated its claim that 21-year-old Bahadur Ali had been trained by the outlawed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and ‘military experts’ to infiltrate Kashmir and create tensions.
“Bahadur Ali lays bare the Lashkar conspiracy to throw grenades amidst protesters in Kashmir,” NIA Director General Sharad Kumar told The Hindustan Times.
Ali was arrested by Indian authorities in Jammu and Kashmir on July 25 with weapons, including AK-47 rifle, live rounds, grenades, grenade launcher, etc, and also sophisticated communication equipment and other material of Pakistani/international origin, according to a demarche which was issued to Pakistani High Commissioner in India Abdul Basit on Tuesday.
Security beefed up along Pak-India border
During the news conference, NIA showed an apparent ‘confession’ video of Ali recorded after his arrest. In the 11-minute long clip, a bearded man is shown sitting in a dimly-lit room reading out from an off-screen prompter.
“I was asked to throw grenades during a protest but I couldn’t,” Ali said in a monotone.
Ali further purports that he had been instructed to “mingle with the locals and create trouble” during the many protests that erupted in Kashmir after the July 8 killing of separatist leader Burhan Wani.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 11th, 2016.
The video was shown a day after Pakistan had rejected Indian claims of cross-border infiltration.
Two Indian soldiers killed in Kashmir
The Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a news conference on Wednesday reiterated its claim that 21-year-old Bahadur Ali had been trained by the outlawed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and ‘military experts’ to infiltrate Kashmir and create tensions.
“Bahadur Ali lays bare the Lashkar conspiracy to throw grenades amidst protesters in Kashmir,” NIA Director General Sharad Kumar told The Hindustan Times.
Ali was arrested by Indian authorities in Jammu and Kashmir on July 25 with weapons, including AK-47 rifle, live rounds, grenades, grenade launcher, etc, and also sophisticated communication equipment and other material of Pakistani/international origin, according to a demarche which was issued to Pakistani High Commissioner in India Abdul Basit on Tuesday.
Security beefed up along Pak-India border
During the news conference, NIA showed an apparent ‘confession’ video of Ali recorded after his arrest. In the 11-minute long clip, a bearded man is shown sitting in a dimly-lit room reading out from an off-screen prompter.
“I was asked to throw grenades during a protest but I couldn’t,” Ali said in a monotone.
Ali further purports that he had been instructed to “mingle with the locals and create trouble” during the many protests that erupted in Kashmir after the July 8 killing of separatist leader Burhan Wani.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 11th, 2016.