Dec. 2: Pakistan’s powerful ISI chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha had secretly contacted Israeli officials to head off potential attacks on Jewish targets in India after the 26/11 attacks despite no diplomatic ties between the two countries, according to leaked US cables by WikiLeaks.
Nearly a year after the Mumbai attack, Lt. Gen. Pasha told the then US ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson that he was in touch with Israeli officials on possible threats against Jewish targets in India and is willing to meet his Indian counterpart any time.
“DGISI (Director General Inter Services Intelligence) Pasha asked ambassador to convey to Washington that he had followed up on threat information that an attack would be launched against India between September-November. He had been in direct touch with the Israelis on possible threats against Israeli targets in India,” the leaked cable said.
Gen. Pasha said he had also gone to Muscat and Tehran to investigate the information he had received about possible pending attacks in India, said the October 7, 2009 cable leaked by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.
“He reminded Patterson that information about an attack on India had come his way and he had asked CIA to convey it to the Indians through CIA channels,” it said.
Gen. Pasha met Ms Patterson, along with Army Chief Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. “Pasha indicated he was willing to meet with his Indian counterpart at any time”.
“He said he would meet his Indian counterpart any time, noting that it was critically important that any threat information be shared with him.” “He emphasised that ISI was doing everything possible to reduce the possibility of an attack on India,” said the cable signed off by Ms Patterson. In the immediate aftermath of the Mumbai attack, a British proposal agreed to by President Asif Ali Zardari to send Gen. Pasha to India to calm tensions had been overruled by Pakistan’s Army. The meeting, primarily called to discuss the Kerry- Lugar-Berman bill lasted for two-hours, and details of it are reported in a secret US cable released by WikiLeaks on Wednesday.