On November 26, 2008, Ajmal Kasab and his fellow jihadis murdered 164 people and wounded 308 in Mumbai, India. Somehow they didn’t understand the phrase “the time for jihad has come” as meaning that it was time to go to the gym or drop the kids off at school. Ibrahim Hooper, call your office!

“The time for jihad has come’: What 26/11 attacker Ajmal Kasab said in his testimony,” Hindustan Times, November 23, 2018:

“I studied up to fourth standard at a Government Primary School. After leaving school in 2000, I went to Lahore and stayed with my brother Afzal. I did menial jobs at different places till 2005. During that period, I used to visit my native place. In 2005, I had a quarrel with my father and left home.

I went to a home in Lahore where run-away boys like me are housed. From there, the boys are sent to different places for employment. One day, a person named Shafiq came there and took me with him. He was in the catering business and I started working with him for ₹120 per day. While I was working with Shafiq, I came in contact with Muzaffar Lal Khan. We decided to carry out dacoities to earn more money and so moved to Rawalpindi.

My journey into jihad started soon after.

While we were in search of firearms, we saw some Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) stalls at Rawalpindi’s Raja Bazaar on Eid al-Adha. We thought, why not join them and learn how to operate guns….

I first met the Lashkar’s Amir, Hafiz Saeed, at Muridke while I was undergoing the 21-day Daura-e-Sufa (preliminary training) between December 2007 and January 2008. A batch of 30 recruits was explained the meaning of jihad. The batch was introduced to Hafiz Saeed and the operation commander, Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi. Saeed addressed the batch, saying, “You mujahedeen have to fight to liberate Kashmir,’’ and Lakhvi said, “Ab jihad ka waqt aa gaya hai (the time for jihad has come). We now have to wage a war to get Kashmir. Are all of you ready for this battle? We are planning to target big cities to weaken India.”…

Hafiz Saeed chose the final 10 who were sent via sea to Mumbai. He also gave us new names. I was named Abu Mujahid. We then came back to Muridke for Daura-e-Ribat (intelligence training) in August 2008. The Major General visited the group again to motivate us and asked me if I knew how to swim….

The group was then introduced to Zarar Shah, the computer and media expert. Soon after, Saeed broke the group of 10 up into five pairs and said, “We now have to hijack an Indian boat to go from Karachi to Mumbai. A lot of foreign tourists come there and they have to be targeted and killed to embarrass Hindustan.”…

Finally, we were asked to shave our beards. Mobile phones with Indian SIM cards and watches set to Indian time were given to us and we were also asked to tie a red thread around our wrists, so as to pass off as Hindus. The group was ready to set sail for Mumbai.