A key 26/11 suspect nabbed after Saudi tip-off

Islamabad: One of the seven suspects arrested by Pakistani authorities for alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks was detained on the basis of

information provided by Saudi Arabia, according to a secret US cable released by WikiLeaks.

The cable dated August 7, 2009 sent by then Charge d'Affaires Gerald Feierstein said Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested Jamil Ahmed after the Saudi Arabian government "passed information they had from an Interpol lead".

Ahmed "allegedly sent money from Saudi Arabia to another arrested suspect, Shahid Jamil Riaz, just prior to the attacks", said the cable provided by WikiLeaks to several media outlets, including Pakistan's Dawn newspaper.

At the time, Ahmed was the sixth person to be arrested in connection with the Mumbai attacks. He was previously named in the FIA's chargesheet as an

"absconder".

"Using evidence from Interpol, the FBI, and Saudi Arabia, the FIA was able to trace phone numbers connected to both Ahmed and Riaz. "Ahmed was arrested from his home in Battgram," the cable said.

Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi is among the seven persons currently on trial for allegedly planning, financing and facilitating the attacks on India's financial hub that killed 166 people, including six Americans. Feierstein's cable further said the FIA was still waiting for a "few items of evidence from India" though there was "no expectation the (government of India) will release the items in time for the trial".

According to the FIA, the main piece of evidence they wanted from India was a certified statement from the Indian judge hearing Ajmal Kasab's testimony in Mumbai. This was subsequently provided by Indian authorities.

"Even without further evidence from India, the (government of Pakistan's) case against the (suspects) in custody is strong, but uneven, with the case against the lower-level two suspects stronger than that against the top three," the cable said.

The FIA planned to have one of its investigators testify regarding "controller voice recordings to try to convict top LeT leaders (Abu) al-Qama and Lakhvi", the cable said.