PoK ex-PM hints at cross-border hand in Red Fort attack

Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s former Prime Minister Anwarul Haq has been caught on camera "boasting" about carrying out an attack on India “from Red Fort to the forests of Kashmir”.In an undated video, which has gone viral on social media, Haq says, “I had said earlier that if you continue to drench Balochistan in blood, we will attack India from the Red Fort to the forests of Kashmir. By the grace of God, we have done it, and they still haven't been able to count all bodies.” Online users have linked his statement to the November 10 Red Fort car blast.

The clip has triggered alarm across security circles.

The Tribune could not independently verify the authenticity or the date of the video. However, the explicit reference to the Red Fort raises serious questions, coming just over a week after a vehicle-borne IED exploded near the iconic monument, killing 15 persons and injuring dozens.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the case, has already identified the deceased driver of the explosive-laden car as Umer Un Nabi of Pulwama — an assistant professor at Al Falah University in Faridabad who investigators say turned into a suicide bomber.

The NIA is pursuing multiple leads to uncover what officials describe as a “larger conspiracy” behind the attack. The agency has so far examined more than 70 witnesses as part of the probe.

The agency is also trying to trace the digital footprints of the arrested members of the “white collar” module allegedly involved in masterminding the terror incident.

Sources said though there were indications of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad's handlers reportedly being behind the plotters, investigators were yet to trace any direct digital proof between the module members and their reported handlers even as arrests have gone up in the aftermath of the incident.