Youths from Kerala involved in ‘Karachi project’

KOZHIKODE: Now, it has become more clear that terror operatives in Kerala had sent five Malayali boys to Kashmir in 2008 for training, as part of the ‘Karachi Project’ hatched by Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), with the support of Lashkar-e-Taiba, SIMI and Indian Mujahidheen.

The primary objective of the project is to provide training to selected Indians at terror camps in Pakistan and Pak-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and to send them back to India to carry out terror attacks.

By using Indians for terror attacks the ISI wanted to disprove the Indian government’s claim that terrorism on its soil is being perpetrated by Pakistan.

The project is aimed at giving an impression that terrorism in India is purely a homegrown phenomenon.

Fahim Ansari, who is an accused in the attack on a CRPF camp at Rampur in UP, Sabahudheen Ahamed, an accused in the attack on the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and Raziyudheen Nazeer, who was arrested by the Karnataka Police for plotting an attack in Goa, were provided training at terror camps across the border.

Sources said that Muhammad Fayaz, Fayiz, Abdul Jabbar, Abdul Rahim and Yasin were sent to Kashmir with the intention of crossing the borders and to be trained by the ISI.

The plan was to push them back to India after providing training on attacking specific targets in India.

Kochi was one of the targets identified by the terrorists. Raziyudheen Nazir contacted the SIMI leadership in Kerala to find out the possible recruits.

Nazir was in touch with SIMI/ Indian Mujahidheen leader Anzar Nadvi, who was later arrested from Indore.

Nadvi and Sarfaraz Nawaz approached Thadiyantavide Nazeer, who by the time, had built up his own terror network in Kerala.

Nazeer and Nadvi prepared a list of persons to be sent for terror training.

Shaduly, the brother of SIMI leader P A Shibly who was also arrested from Indore, was included in the list prepared by Nadvi.

Yousaf alias Mani, who is believed to have been converted by Abdul Nazar Madhani, also figured in the list.

Passports were prepared for all of them, as the initial plan was to send them to Pakistan via Gulf.

Finally, five people were selected from the list prepared by Nazeer for training. However, the plan to send the recruits via Gulf to Pakistan was dropped, and they were taken to the terror camp at Kupwara in Kashmir.