A fresh controversy has erupted after Farhatullah Babar, former adviser to Pakistan’s ex-president Asif Ali Zardari, claimed that the 26/11 Mumbai attacks were a reaction to Zardari’s ‘no first use’ nuclear weapons offer to India. According to Babar’s book The Zardari Presidency: Now It Must Be Told, the offer was made during an interview with Indian journalist Karan Thapar in November 2008. He suggests Pakistan’s military establishment retaliated through the terror assault on Mumbai.

However, the timeline tells a different story. By the time Zardari gave his interview on November 22, 2008, the ten Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists had already set sail from Karachi aboard the vessel Al Husseini. The terrorists hijacked an Indian trawler, Kuber, on November 23 and reached Mumbai’s coast by November 26. Investigations confirmed that the operation had been planned years earlier by Pakistan’s ISI, beginning in 2005, with detailed reconnaissance by Pakistani-American David Headley in 2006.

Pakistan’s military has historically controlled the nation’s nuclear policy. General Kayani, who served as ISI chief during the 2006 Mumbai train bombings and later as army chief, is believed to have overseen the planning phase of 26/11. Analysts argue that the attacks were part of a broader strategy to destabilize India and reaffirm military dominance over Pakistan’s civilian leadership.

The 26/11 assault, which killed 166 people, remains one of the deadliest terror strikes on Indian soil. Despite claims linking it to Zardari’s nuclear statement, evidence suggests the operation was long in motion, reflecting the deep state’s grip over Pakistan’s foreign and defense policy. The episode also highlights Islamabad’s enduring struggle between civilian governance and military control—a conflict that continues to shape the nation’s politics and regional security outlook.