week south asia." in this weeks episode, indian mujahedin. and recently, non-militants

charged in militant act. islamabad continues to deny the charges. now for all the details. india has got a big catch. indian spy agencies nabbed the cofounder of indian mujahedin. this arrest is significant, as he was accused in several high- profile cases. >> the indian mujahedin cofounder, key accused in many bomb attacks in india, was arrested on the border by intelligence agencies. he is also wanted in the german bakery blast on february 13, 2010, that left 17 dead. the i.m. leader is wanted in a

string of terror attacks. he along with three eggs -- aides, were allegedly behind three coordinated bomb explosions. an opera house, so we're bizarre, and mumbai on july 13, 2011, leaving 27 dead and 130 injured. the other three were involved in the four coordinated low intensity explosions which struck the busy arterial road in august 2012.

>> i think this is a big catch, and it will degrade the capabilities of the mujahedin. >> he was brought to india while in nepal that intelligence agencies. he is likely to throw light on the terror module. a fountainhead of terror, he is likely to provide agencies with a font of information on the following lines -- the i.m. terror network of india, who is funding the i.m., the relation between it and terror handlers, the sleeping modules of i.m.

>> indian mujahedin is known to have intellectuals, especially motivated information technology experts in its fold. he can provide information to this network and also on the on makers of -- bomb makers of i.m.

>> he is supposed to be the main architect of the i.m., and you know the i.m. has been operating here for a long time and using resident indians, indian citizens, for this purpose. i think it is a big, they singular achievement. >> the arrest is a major achievement for india. in the recent past alone, i had some top-secret operations which ended with a hanging of a pakistani terrorist, and operation three star which concluded with a long pending

hanging of a terrorist. other infamous names who have been part of this series of successes are dreaded terrorists who are now under arrest, emboldened by the recent success, the government has said it will go all out against the forces in india.

>> this family also reacted to the arrest, saying the law should take its course. if he is found culpable, he should be punished accordingly. the indian mujahedin cofounder has confessed to his role.

>> confessions so far clearly show that the isi is working proactively to destabilize india . it is fast becoming a center for anti-india terrorists. >> while arrested terrorists continue to spill the beans about pakistan one after another, handlers in pakistan opt to remain in denial mode. a recently arrested militant has claimed that the former i.s.i. chief was his handler, but he denies the charge. >> former inter-services intelligence chief categorically denied any links with an alleged

terrorist arrested by indian police last week. he's a retired general of the pakistan army and was director general of the inter-services intelligence isi. he was director during the last stages of the soviet war in afghanistan. one of the 20 most wanted terrorists in india reportedly told interrogators that the former inter-services intelligence isi chief was his handler. >> i have nothing to do with him. in any case, i cannot be handling very small-level people. the notion of my handling him

was nonsense, sheer nonsense fabricated by the indian police. he is spinning yarns. it is possible under pressure or whatever it is, but we will find the real truth about it when the case goes to court. i had nothing to do with it. i categorically deny the allegations being leveled against me. >> according to a senior indian intelligence official, he had claimed that the two first met in 1995, and he has remained in constant touch with the hawkish general. >> this is all fabrication. this is a blatant lie. i deny it wholeheartedly. i retired from the army in 1992 and left the isi in 1989. for that quarter of a century gap, i do not know why i am

still being deemed as a handler, and that to a terrorist. i detest terrorism. i am ag heidi -- a jihadi, and jihad is a form of resistance against tyranny, against oppression. >> contradicting reports that he was his handler, indian intelligence officials say that he did not need handlers because he was a tough nut to crack even at his advanced age and had been efficiently handling his cross- country network. police had nabbed him, allegedly an expert on explosives, for the pakistani outlawed militant outfit from the indo nepal

border. media reports said a pakistani passport was recovered in india posner northern state. according to a police dossier, he was involved in some of the most deadly militant attacks in the past decades and a mastermind of over 40 bomb blasts across the country. he is wanted for a total of 21 cases including blasts at 24 cases. he's known for his hardline attitude towards india and is especially vocal. india accuses pakistan of supporting separatist rebels.

ask whether he thought the prime ministers of india and pakistan should meet next month in new york, he said they certainly should. >> yes, they should. why not? they should meet. they should meet at every level because we have to resolve the issue. this is a very peculiar time in history when americans and the nato forces are leaving pakistan. it will be that as much for pakistan as for india if the issues between the two are not resolved. >> however, he said, prime minister sharif should not believe that there could be peace and friendship with india until the kashmir issue was resolved. >> it's not possible for him to do that. after all, there is a different

issue rooted in history. it is not only 66 years of history. it is 1000 years of history. the issue is rooted in history of both the country and of this region. so he cannot do this. only yesterday, he said that we cannot forget kashmir. that means whatever he did, it has been washed up by the indians themselves. what a shame it is. they have suffered because of it. >> india has repeatedly claimed that the isi was actively involved in ferreting out terrorist activities against their country, but he denied these charges and defended the isi by contending is a professional outfit made up by personnel in the three rings of

the uniform services. >> isi is a very special organization. its manpower is all drawn from the three uniform services -- the navy, the air force, and the army -- and they are highly disciplined. there is no question of rogue element ever seeping into the ranks of the isi. it is possible for other organizations, but not for isi. if somebody thinks that isi will harbor rogue elements, then it is totally incorrect. >> asked if there was any truth in the claim that a man who's wanted for the involvement of the 1990 three mumbai blasts was living in karachi under the isi's in, he said india says he is in karachi. pakistan says he is not.

whereas, he had retired from the isi 25 years ago, and as such, he had no knowledge about the issue, but true facts will only come to light if somehow, someday, he resurfaces somewhere. >> well time now for a quick break, but do stay tuned. coming up after the break, a gun man kills a sunni cleric and capital islamabad. welcome back. you are watching "news week south asia." moving on now, right wing fundamentalist group may be frowning on the band and bangladesh, but liberals hail

the band and say that it is justified. >> activists hailed the high court's verdict, declaring the country's main islamic party as illegal and banning it from national elections to to be held early next year, ruling that the registration of the political party conflicted with the country's secular constitution. it immediately triggered violent protests by party supporters. supporters of the party have turned out as a threat to the neighboring countries like india . the party has been embroiled in the proceedings at a tribunal set up to investigate abuses during bangladesh's 1971 war of independence from pakistan. six party leaders have been

convicted of various crimes in connection with the war. four of them were sentenced to death, and to to life in prison. they said that the party was like a foreign agent trying to destabilize bangladesh and undermine its integrity. >> they have been doing these kind of activities since 1971, and they have been trying to undermine the existence of bangladesh, and they do not believe in the existence of bangladesh. they are like a foreign agent trying to destabilize the country, so it is not unexpected from them, but we hate this. we do not support this. >> bangladesh became part of

pakistan at the end of reddish rule in 1927, but it broke away from pakistan in 1971 after a war between bangladeshi nationalists who were backed by india and pakistani forces. he added that they have committed genocide in the country, and it's political approach is detrimental for bangladesh. >> the history of this party is very painful and very detrimental for this country. they are in favor of genocide, and they have supported and committed genocides against humanity and people in bangladesh. >> they oppose bangladeshi independence from pakistan and the war but denied accusations that some of its leaders have committed murder, rape, and torture during the conflict. about 3 million people were killed during the nine-month war

according to official figures, and thousands of women were raped. >> sectarian violence in pakistan, which was so far confined to karachi and verbal parts of punjab have reared their heads. recently, a sunni cleric was killed by unknown assailants. >> a motorcycle opened fire outside a sunni cemetery on the outskirts of pakistani capital islamabad, killing two people and wounding a third late on friday, august 23. police and eyewitnesses said. according to police, he was standing among other local people outside the seminary after night prayers at a nearby

mosque when the attackers opened fire on them. he and a worshiper were killed on the spot. wounded. >> one official said other people had also been targeted elsewhere. >> no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. police said the motive was not immediately clear, and they were investigating.

students, teachers, and local residents added outside the morgue. the bodies of the victims had been brought, demanding that the perpetrators are brought to justice. >> with that, we come to the end of this edition of "news week south asia." we will be back next week with more news, views, and analysis from the subcontinent. meanwhile, do keep writing into us. i'm signing off on behalf of the entire production team of "news week south asia." goodbye.