Ajmal Kasab was hanged on November 21, 2012 at 7:30 am and buried in Yerwada Jail. Yerwada Central Jail is a noted high-security jail in Yerwada, Pune, in Maharashtra, India. On June 2, 2009, Kasab told the judge he also understood the Marathi language. Kasab’s plea for clemency was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee on November 5, 2012. On November 7, Minister of Home Affairs Sushilkumar Shinde confirmed the president’s rejection of the petition. The following day, the Maharashtra state government was formally notified and requested to take action. The date of November 21 was then fixed for the execution. Everything so far was on a secret basis. Kasab was formally informed of his execution on November 12, after which he requested government officials to inform his mother. On the night between November 18 and 19, a senior prison official at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai read Kasab’s death warrant to him, informing him at the same time that his petition for clemency had been rejected. Kasab was then asked to sign his death warrant. He was secretly transferred under heavy guard to Yerwada Jail in Pune, arriving in the early morning of November 19. The death and funeral of Hindutva politician Bal Thackeray aided in diverting attention from Kasab. An officer at Arthur Road Jail stated anonymously: “Throughout the journey from Mumbai to Pune, he did not cause any trouble. Kasab’s attitude was of resignation when he came to know that his mercy petition was rejected. Kasab did not shed a single tear during the last few days.” Only the jail superintendent at Yerwada was made aware of Kasab’s identity, otherwise the affair was wrapped in secrecy. Kasab was placed in a special cell when he was at Yerwada and no other inmates were informed of his presence. It was only a few minutes before Kasab’s execution that the executioner was informed whom he would be hanging. Guilty or not guilty is not the question. He was the lone witness of the Mumbai terror attack. How did he survive? Was his survival pre-planned? Why was it necessary to eliminate him immediately after the completion of ‘legal procedures’? Was he a Pakistani? How did he understand Marathi? Why was not his name in the crew of the ship Kuber that carried the ‘terrorists’ to Mumbai? According to the dossier submitted by the Indian authorities, each terrorist passenger of the Kuber who attacked Mumbai was given along with their daily duties. Why was Kasab not mentioned anywhere in that list? Kasab is dead but the questions about him are not dead. Now an Indian home ministry official has stated in court that the Mumbai attack was engineered by the Indian authorities. It may be an eye-opener for many but the fact is there have been strong indications to that effect for a long time. I had also mentioned this in my articles earlier. In the book Who killed Karkre? by an ex-IG Maharashtra, there is undeniable evidence that Hemant Karkare was on the hit list of the Hindutva-supported agencies. Karkare was an upright officer who had proved the Hindutva terrorists’ involvement in the Samjhota Express, Malehgaon and other terror attacks. He had filed a case in the Nasik court as a result of which Colonel Prohit, Pragya Sidvi and others were convicted. These were all Hindutva committed terrorists and their supporters could not afford to let Karkare stay alive and as the chief of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad because he would have made more disclosures. It is very likely Kasab was taken out of the jail, promised remission and assigned the job of directing the terrorists to Karkare’s location to kill him and his team. Even before the statement of the Indian home ministry officer it was known that the Indian agencies had a hand in the Mumbai attack. They knew about it well in advance and let it happen. Now it seems that they not only turned a blind eye, they had actually planned it for political gains. Just last week, The Times of India carried a tantalising news story that has gripped the attention of Pakistanis. According to the news story, Mr Mani, a home ministry official, on the testimony of a police officer, Mr Satish Verma, submitted an affidavit in the Indian Supreme Court in the Ishrat Jahan case, revealing that the Indian government had orchestrated the 2001 attack on parliament and the 2008 Mumbai attacks in order to have a basis to legislate stringent anti-terrorist laws. The most sensational lines of the declaration are: “13/12/2001 (attack on parliament) was followed by PoTA (Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act) and 26/11/2008 (terrorists’ siege of Mumbai) was followed by amendment to the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act).” As the Indian officer has said, it was done to make it easier for the Government of India to pass stricter measures. Even the attack on parliament was engineered for this purpose. It was therefore necessary that the witnesses to the attacks on Mumbai and parliament be silenced lest the real story came out in full detail. Indian authorities silenced Kasab and Afzal Guru. In the case of Guru, the Supreme Court did not find conclusive evidence but upheld his conviction to please public perception! But the death of these two could not put a cover on the facts. If readers have an interest in political history, they would remember that the Mumbai terror attack was engineered at a time when India needed to discredit Pakistan and facilitate their civilian nuclear deal with the US. So there was a dual purpose. The news of Kasab’s secret hanging got drowned in the noise of Thackeray’s death. Some facts have surfaced now. It could be a tribute to the integrity of the Indian officer who had the courage to record what could be the truth in an Indian court. Such officers are perhaps the real asset of a nation, and in this case of the Indian nation. The writer is the former CEO Pakistan National Council of the Arts; Chairman Fruit processing Industries; Chairman UNESCO Theatre Institute Pakistan; COO ‘ICTV’ USA, and currently, Senior Vice President APML (Central). He can be reached at naeemtahir37@gmail.com