How India missed rare opportunity to kill 26/11 masterminds, including Masood Azhar; report reveals SHOCKING details, says New Delhi failed to…

The official revealed that in the initial weeks after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, agencies had pinpointed the locations of dreaded Pakistan-based terrorists, including Jaish chief Masood Azhar and top leaders of the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

India missed a rare opportunity to eliminate the masterminds of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, including Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, and top leadership of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group in Pakistan.

When India missed opportunity to kill 26/11 culprits?

A report in the Sunday Guardian, citing a top Indian intelligence official, revealed how New Delhi passed over a unique opportunity to eliminate top terrorist leadership based in Pakistan after full operational clearance was given by intelligence agencies, which assessed that Islamabad was not in a position to launch a large-scale attack against India, and would be willing to “sacrifice” top Jaish and Lashkar leaders to avoid escalation in wake of any Indian attack.

“We gave full approval from our side and provided necessary information we needed to gather. According to our assessment, based on high-level human intelligence, Pakistan was not militarily, resourcefully, or financially prepared for a conventional conflict. They were mentally prepared for Indian retaliation and wanted to avoid war,” the official was quoted as saying on the condition of anonymity.

The official said intel agencies had assessed that the risk of escalation from Pakistan was extremely low, after official, high-level human intelligence confirmed Pakistan’s military, financial and diplomatic weakness.

Why New Delhi didn’t act?

The political leadership in New Delhi was provided full operational clearance from agencies as assessments showed Islamabad was apprehensive of a possible Indian attack, and was prepping a limited response, he said, adding that human intelligence indicated Pakistan lacked resources and was psychologically unprepared for a full-scale war.

“We gave our full report, shared our inputs, and told them that Pakistan was militarily weak. It could tolerate a limited retaliation, but was not prepared for a full-scale war. All Indian intelligence agencies had given operational clearance, but the final decision rested with the political leadership in New Delhi,” the official claimed.

Was Pakistan willing to sacrifice terrorist leadership?

Further, the official revealed that in the initial weeks after the Mumbai attacks, agencies had pinpointed the locations of dreaded Pakistan-based terrorists, including Jaish chief Masood Azhar and top leaders of the Lashkar-e-Taiba. The official asserted that Pakistan had deliberately disclosed the “unusual movements” of these terrorists to India, signaling that Islamabad was willing to “sacrifice” these assets to avoid any escalation.

“They knew we were watching. They moved these terrorists somewhat openly so that we would take action. But we did not take that step,” he revealed.