Inside Story! How Pakistan Tricked An Unsuspecting India on 26/11
India’s Home Secretary in Pakistan as 26/11 Unfolded: A Tale of Deception
As 10 heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists unleashed mayhem in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, killing 166 people in one of India’s deadliest terror attacks, a little-known detail underscores the chilling backdrop to that fateful night: India’s then-Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta was in Islamabad, ensnared in what many now see as a calculated ruse by Pakistan.
On that day, Gupta led an Indian delegation to Pakistan for bilateral home secretary-level talks under the framework of the ‘Composite Dialogue,’ aimed at addressing issues like terrorism. The irony was stark—while Pakistan hosted India to ostensibly discuss peace, its proxies were executing a meticulously planned assault on Mumbai via the Arabian Sea.
The talks concluded on November 26, and as per protocol, the Indian team was scheduled for a courtesy meeting with Pakistan’s Interior Minister the following day. But the minister was suddenly “unavailable,” citing travel, and the meeting was deferred to November 27, forcing the delegation to extend its stay.
Sources familiar with the events suggest this was no coincidence. That evening, as the Indian team was whisked away to Murree—a scenic hill station near Islamabad—the first shots rang out in Mumbai. The delegation, including an additional secretary, a joint secretary, and other officers from the Ministry of Home Affairs, was effectively isolated as the terror attack unfolded. Gupta, stranded in Murree, maintained constant contact with Delhi’s leadership, grappling with the crisis from afar.
Speculation swirled then, and persists today, that Pakistan engineered this delay to keep India’s top security official out of the loop at a critical juncture. The delegation rushed back to India on November 27, but by then, the damage was done—166 lives lost, hundreds injured, and a nation scarred.
In Gupta’s absence, Special Secretary (Internal Security) M L Kumawat stepped in, coordinating with agencies under the guidance of then-Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who later resigned amid public outrage. Kumawat, an IPS officer, worked alongside Joint Secretary Naveen Verma and others to manage the initial response.
Fast forward to April 10, 2025: after years of relentless pursuit by Indian agencies, Tahawwur Hussain Rana—a key accused in the 26/11 attacks and a close associate of Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley—arrived in Delhi from the US. Extradited from a detention center in Los Angeles, Rana now faces trial, marking a significant step toward justice.
When reached for comment, Gupta, now unwell, declined to speak. But the events of that night in 2008 remain a haunting reminder of how Pakistan’s duplicity may have blindsided India at its most vulnerable moment.
