The automatic pistols are also manufactured in Pakistan, with one of them bearing, in bold letters, the name “Diamond” followed by the manufacturer’s name, “Nedi Frontier Arms Co.” Below it are engravings which read “Peshawar Cal 30” and “7341 NFAC.”

The butt of the pistol also has the symbol of a circumscribed star. Knives with black handles have also been recovered and have the image of a black revolver with Arabic or Urdu text next to it on the blades. Meanwhile, sources said the interrogation of Mohammed Ajmal Ameer Kasab, the only attacker caught alive, found that their original plan was to target Mumbai during Eid in the first week of October but it was postponed due to “certain situations”.

“Kasab has revealed that he and the others were originally given instructions to target the city during Eid. However, due to certain reasons and situations, which he is not privy to as he is a foot-soldier, the attack was then delayed,” the source said, adding that the terrorists were constantly in touch with two persons in Pakistan whom they addressed only as “Zaki” and “Kafaa” while they were sailing to India.

Security experts pointed out that the run-up to Eid was marked by two major terror incidents — the attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad on September 20 and the Malegaon blast on September 29 — and they could have forced the Mumbai attackers to change their plans in the light of heightened security.