AL-Qaeda operatives used a New Delhi-based organisation, Tablighi Jamaat, as a cover to obtain travel documents and shelter. As per disclosures of Guantanamo Bay detainees, released by WikiLeaks, the affiliation with the organisation was "identified as an al-Qaeda cover story".

Furthermore, say the papers, at least three of the hardcore inmates at the prison had stayed at the organisation's facilities in Delhi and around.

The records revealed by WikiLeaks contain interrogation reports and analysis of 779 inmates of the Cuba bay prison.

Rubbishing the charge, Syed Shaukat Ali, who is associated with the Tablighi Jamaat, said their facilities were open to all. Questioning the authenticity of the WikiLeaks records, he said: "It is known that such statements are forced to be made under duress. Anybody can visit the mosque at Nizamuddin as it is open to all. You can also go. Please visit and see it for yourself."

The US records identify the New Delhi-headquartered Jamaat Tabligh (as the name appears in its records) as a "proselytising organisation that willingly supports terrorists".

A note on the organisation buried deep in the files states, "Affiliation with the JT (Jamaat Tabligh) has been identified as an al-Qaida cover story. Al-Qaida used the JT to facilitate and fund the international travels of its members. Most recently the JT has been linked to the 11 July, 2006, terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, in which at least 207 people were killed and over 800 injured."

The records also say that "Al-Qaida used the JT to facilitate and fund the international travel of its members". Several of the inmates are recorded as having used JT's facilities in India and abroad for shelter and travel documents.

Somalian resident Muhammad Sulayman, who has been identified as a member and financier of al-Qaeda, used the New Delhi HQ of the organisation to get travel documents for Pakistan. "He was denied UN refugee status in India, but he obtained a visa to travel to Pakistan under the sponsorship of Jamaat Tablighi (JT). Detainee stated he had no intention of performing missionary duties or serving with the JT; he just used the group to get a visa," the record states.

... contd.

Please read our terms of use before posting comments