Navy chief says input too vague but alert gave coordinates of Lashkar ship

The location given in the intercept, 24.16. 36 N and 67.02.04 E, shows the vessel was about 60 km off Karachi on that day hovering very close to international waters, possibly observing Indian fishing trawlers. The input states that a LeT vessel at the given coordinates was “attempting to infiltrate through sea”. It also mentions the possibility of an Indian trawler being also used for this purpose.

The Research & Analysis Wing’s input had was passed on to National Security Council Secretariat and Joint Intelligence Council. Subsequently, this was shared with the Navy and the Coast Guard. Also, it was sent to Maharashtra government.

However, the terrorists were able toa escape all checks by using one of the crew members as cover and pretending to be Indian fishermen.

While there have been a few such alerts this year, top officials point to the lack of analysis and coordination depending on the veracity of the input.

So, today the agencies believe that they had provided as much an accurate input they could while the Navy believes it was not enough for it to take urgent action.

Besides this, India established that the terrorists left from the Azizabad area of Karachi and this intelligence was picked up from a telephonic intercept from Pakistan to Mumbai informing the location of the expected arrival of the group.