Retired Pakistani major charged with acting as al-Qaeda go-between
By Dean Nelson in New Delhi

09 Dec 2009 A retired major in the Pakistani army has been charged with acting as a conduit between the al-Qaeda leadership and an American man accused of conducting reconnaissance missions for last year's terrorist attacks on Mumbai.

Abdur Rehman Hashim has been charged in absentia by the FBI with plotting terrorist attacks in Denmark and India, and co-odinating terrorist raids with a leading al-Qaeda commander closely linked with senior Pakistani veterans.

The disclosure that a retired senior army officer allegedly played a key role in the Mumbai attacks, in which 166 were killed, highlights the close links said to exist between elements in Pakistan's military and militant commanders. Retired officers have also been blamed for planning recent suicide bomb attacks on India's embassy in Kabul.

According to an FBI charge sheet, Major Hashim co-ordinated the activities of David Headley, a Pakistan-born American national, as he prepared to attack a Danish newspaper which outraged Muslims by publishing a cartoon image of the Prophet Mohammed. It also claimed Major Hashim had told Mr Headley to switch his attention to targets in India.

It claims he was in contact with Ilyas Kashmiri, a senior al-Qaeda commander who is believed to be in charge of its "military operations".

Major Hashim was arrested in Pakistan in September but is since believed to have been released.

David Headley, who was born Dawood Gilani in Pakistan, is alleged to have befriended a number of Bollywood stars as cover for filming video footage of the Mumbai's Taj Mahal Hotel and the Café Leopold bar where Lashkar-e-Taiba commandos began their machine gun and grenade attack on India's film and financial capital.

Mr Headley pleaded not guilty to the charges on Wednesday during his first court appearance in Chicago since his arrest in October.

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