‘When did you come here? To India?’

‘January 1995. I am Farhan Qureshi. Salim is my assumed identity. You Indians did your homework properly this time!’ Salim had a mocking smile on his face.

‘Wipe the smirk off your face. What’s the mission? Who are you planning to kill, or rather how many? Your collaborators? Where are the explosives and arms?’

‘Those are not here yet. The attack will be staged in a month. Beyond that, I don’t know what I may be asked to do.’

‘How long were you to stay here?’

Salim laughed. ‘Where would I go?’

‘What is your mission? This is the last time I am asking you. Answer! Or you will be sent to meet your ancestors, wherever they may be!’

‘Sarey Hyderabad mein dhamaaka karna tha! On Ganesh Chaturthi, bodies will be strewn around streets. The sound of the blasts will pierce the ears of the rioters of Mumbai and Ahmedabad and those who pulled down the holy Babri Masjid at Ayodhya.’

‘Okay, then what?’

Salim looked confused by Shekhar’s question and gaped at him. Shekhar stared at him without blinking. Salim gathered himself quickly. ‘I was to coordinate with the ongoing projects of the Lashkar sleeper modules and ISI agents in India. I take the final calls for them, I have been authorized. I am the commander of sleeper agents in India. Target? There are many but with one aim. Hindustan ko tabaah karna hai. Till Kashmir, Hyderabad, Junagadh and the Lal Qila of Dilli join Pakistan, the mission is to continue.’

‘You will just return to Bahawalpur in a shroud!’ Shekhar taunted.

‘Who is going back? Not me! I came here to live and die. Babaji told me to get buried in Hindustan.’

‘Al-Cheema – your Babaji! He is your commander, your ustaad, isn’t he? When did you join LeT?’

‘Yes, Babaji’s teams taught me how to assemble and defuse a bomb. And how to use Kalashnikovs, MP5 automatics, light machine guns, machine guns and PIKA guns. I did a twenty-one-day course, Daura-e-Aam, in which I underwent basic training related to weapons, explosives and physical fitness.

‘There was a ninety-day commando course, Daura-e-Khaas, which included exhaustive skills training related to the use of weapons, explosives and unarmed combat. We were taught about our deen and its core teachings. I later did an advanced course on intelligence gathering and sabotage, Daura-e-Ribaat, whose duration was of three months.

‘I did two additional courses in theology, Daura-e-Sufa and Daura-e-Tadrib-Al-Musaleem, meant to strengthen our knowledge about our deen.’

‘Why Hyderabad? Why did you choose to come to Hyderabad?’ Shekhar asked.

‘I came to Hindustan in 1995 to run a PCO booth in Old Delhi, but it failed to take off. Then I went to Haryana, Mumbai and finally Hyderabad. Now, Hyderabad is where my garage and family are.’

‘You will die. Your efforts have been wasted, Farhan,’ Shekhar said.