Author:
Publication: The Times of India
Date: July 23, 2005
In 1995, my uncle Mubarak Musalman,
came from London to my house. At that time my family was in a financial
crisis. My father was not working. My brother earned only Rs 300 a month.
We could have only one meal a day.
I agreed to my uncle's suggestion
to join Al Qaida for money He sent me Rs 1.5 lakh through hawala for taking
flight-training in Australia.
I paid Rs 10,000 for a fake HSC
certificate (a board employee corroborated in court, said certificate was
fabricated).
I took ground training with Fly
Air Academy in 1996 and applied for training in Civil Flying School in
Melbourne. I paid Rs 7 lakh, which my uncle sent me, for the advanced course.
I left for Melbourne in August 1997 (passport entry shows arrival in Australia
on August 7, 1997). There I met Mansoor Iliyaz, Al Qaida chief in Australia.
I completed a 20-hour solo flight-training
course and a month later met the 'Suicidal Squad Members' which included
one Mohammad Atta. There were 53 members. I still remember some. I used
to attend Al Qaida meetings daily in Iliyaz's house.
After undergoing 50 more hours of
training, the members were divided into five groups according to their
targets: the World Trade Centre in New York, the Pentagon, Westminster
in London, Rolta Towers in Australia and the Indian Parliament in New Delhi.
In March-April 1998, I met one Md
Usmani, navigation planner for all the targets. I was selected for the
squad which was to target the Westminster. I was the commanding officer.
My co-pilot was Mushtaq Ahmed and six persons would hijack the plane, it
was planned. I completed 100 hours of flying and passed the General Flying
Progress Test.
I did not complete my commercial
pilot-training as our organisation did not want us to change our minds
later. I also trained at a flight school in Texas in 1999 and at Bombay
Flying Club in 2000.
I reached London in August 2001
and met Musalman. I was chosen as the commanding officer of the squad targeting
the Westminster building. On September 11, 2001, I reached Heathrow Airport
from where we planned to hijack a domestic London-Manchester flight. But
I failed to do so as the airport was closed following attacks on the World
Trade Centre. I returned home after the police in London started checking
flying clubs.
