Two years on, Mumbai victims’ families sue LeT, ISI

Lawsuit details alleged role of the two, including ISI’s ‘Karachi Project’.

KARACHI: Two years after the 26/11 attacks, their legal and political ramifications continue to resonate worldwide. A lawsuit filed in New York has named Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency as a defendant for having “aided and abetted” the attacks.

The lawsuit has been filed by Kreindler and Kreindler LLP and the Silverman Law Firm on behalf of one survivor and family members of victims of the attacks. The 26-page lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by The Express Tribune, was filed on November 19 in the US District Court, Eastern District, NY.

The five plaintiffs have filed nine claims against the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hafiz Saeed, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Azam Cheema and Sajid Majid as well as the ISI, its former DG Nadeem Taj and current head, Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha and two people who it alleges are part of the ISI – Major Iqbal and Major Samir Ali.

For each of the claims, the plaintiffs have asked for damages in excess of $75,000, to be awarded by a jury.

According to the document, the safe house in Karachi where the attackers were trained in September 2008, “was part of ISI’s ‘Karachi Project’, an initiative by which anti-Indian groups were tasked and/or supported by the ISI in a surreptitious fashion to engage in acts of international terrorism.”

Lawyer James Kreindler told The Express Tribune, “There is a great deal of public information that the ISI has played a role supporting the LeT, both over the years and in the planning of the attack, including the information in David Headley’s indictment.”

Highlighting the alleged role of the ISI in the 26/11 attacks, the lawsuit accuses the ISI, Pasha, Taj, Iqbal and Ali of being engaged in the provision of material support or resources with the intent of harming US citizens among others.

When asked if this could turn into a long-running legal battle similar to other cases like the Pan Am 103 families’ suit against Libya which he was involved with, Kreindler said, “I don’t know if it is a 14-year case like the Libya one but we will be here to see it through to the end. For logical reasons the case should go ahead next year.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2010.