India Hands Pakistan 'Proof' of Ties to Attack

A letter written by the sole surviving gunman, Mohammad Ajmal Ameer Qasab, was delivered to the acting high commissioner in New Delhi this evening. According to India's foreign ministry, Qasab "stated that he and the other terrorists killed in the attack were from Pakistan." Pakistan's foreign ministry acknowledged that only Qasab "claims to be a Pakistani."

Pakistan received the letter about the same time that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, arrived in Islamabad. It was his second visit since the Mumbai attacks, part of an effort to defuse tensions between Pakistan and India.

Indian authorities long ago identified Qasab as one of the 10 gunmen who stormed Mumbai Nov. 26. Qasab was captured after he opened fire in the city's main train station, killing dozens.

Pakistani authorities continue to try to distance themselves from the attacks. Late last week, President Asif Ali Zardari rejected media reports that Qasab used to live in the small Punjab city of Faridkot, saying only that "the investigation is ongoing."

But in interviews with Western and Pakistani newspapers, residents of the village have said Qasab's family was quickly moved out of the village after the attacks. And Qasab's father told the Dawn newspaper, "This is the truth. I have seen the picture in the newspaper. This is my son Ajmal."