First official confirmation: FBI quizzed Pakistanis in 26/11 case

The agent,whose identity too was not disclosed for security reasons,said the FBI had registered its own case as Americans were killed in the Mumbai attacks. Investigations were still continuing,and therefore,the identity of the questioned Pakistani nationals could not be disclosed,the agent pleaded.

Mumbai Police sources,however,said they believed these Pakistani nationals included the six Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists Pakistan arrested in connection with the attack.

“The United States had registered a case against the alleged conspirators of the Mumbai attack case in Los Angeles. During the ongoing investigations the FBI had interrogated Pakistani nationals,” the FBI agent told the court.

According to the prosecution,the brains behind 26/11 had hatched the conspiracy in Pakistan and coordinated the attack by keeping in touch with the 10 terrorists through mobile phones. They had used a fake Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP),account with a US- based private service provider for the purpose.

The FBI Special Agent was the fifth US national to depose before the court in the trial. Before the agent,an FBI forensic expert,a representative of Yamaha Motor Company,a representative of Nokia and the owner of the VoIP service provider Callphonex,have given statements to the court.

Three of these witnesses deposed via video-conferencing,the other two came down to Mumbai to appear before the court.