New Delhi: In a significant move, National Investigation Agency (NIA) named a Pakistani diplomat as ‘wanted’ for allegedly conspiring 26/11-type attacks on the Indian Army and Navy commands in south India in 2014 and the US and Israeli consulates.
Reportedly, Pakistani diplomat Amir Zubair Siddiqui, who was posted as visa counsellor in the Pakistani High Commission in Sri Lanka, was named on the NIA’s ‘wanted’ list. The development assumes significance as this is the first time that India has put a Pakistani diplomat’s name in the ‘wanted’ list.
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According to the NIA, Amir Zubair Siddiqui, along with three other Pakistani officers, was conspiring to launch 26/11-type strikes on US and Israeli consulates besides Army and Navy commands in south India in 2014.
The accused Pakistani officers, while serving in Colombo from 2009 to 2016, planned attacks on vital installations in Chennai and other places in south India. Their plot was foiled when the NIA arrested Sri Lankan national Muhammed Sakir Hussaien and other agents who had been hired by Siddiqui. These agents were tasked to collect information about defence installations, nuclear establishments and movement of arms and click photographs of such places, the NIA reportedly claimed.
According to reports, the NIA will soon send a request to Interpol seeking red corner notices (RCNs) against the Pakistani officers, who have reportedly been repatriated to Islamabad.