The retired American general who delivered an alleged memo that sought United States help to stave off a feared coup in Pakistan has said that he believes the document was "not credible".
When Tahawwur Rana's defence attorneys cross-examine David Headley this week, it's possible that they will severely damage him, or that he will self-destruct on the stand. Investigative journalist Steven Rotella reports for ProPublica.org on the Lashkar operative's credibility problems
Speaking at a hearing of the Foreign Relations Committee, Maryland Democrat Ben Cardin, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said: "There are mixed signals here that are very, very troubling and that the United States needs to be able to have alternatives for carrying out its foreign policy in that region."
Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, whose revelations sparked a storm in Pakistan, has said that former envoy to the United States Husain Haqqani should be allowed to speak the truth about the memogate controversy, and be offered immunity from prosecution. "Haqqani should be offered immunity from prosecution in Pakistan and simply tell the Pakistani people the truth about what he -- and his boss -- did. He will be seen as a hero".
Giving his testimony on the second day of the trial of 26/11 co-accused Tawahhur Rana, a Canadian of Pakistani origin, Headley, a Pakistani-American, talked about the hatred against Shiv Sena among his Pakistani handlers. 166 people were killed in the November 2008 attack in Mumbai.
Headley also said that LeT boss Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind behind the November 2008 attack that killed 166 persons, motivated him for carrying out a 'jihad'. Saeed told him that the satisfaction of one second of 'jihad' is equal to "100 years of worship."
Ever since Headley was arrested in US, there has been a lot of talk regarding the Karachi Project, considered to be one of the most ambitious projects staged by the ISI where it plans to combine Pakistani forces and home-grown terrorists to launch a spate of terror attacks on India, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
International arrest warrants have been issued by the Interpol against five Pakistani nationals for their alleged role in the Mumbai terror attack and plotting to carry out more strikes.
Amid a controversy over a secret memo sent to the then United States military chief to prevent a possible military coup in Pakistan, the spokesperson of Admiral Mike Mullen said that the former top general never met the Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz and does not know him.
Pakistan national Major Iqbal, who has been indicted by United States federal prosecutors for his involvement in the Mumbai terrorist attack, was a serving Inter Services Intelligence officer, a media report said on Wednesday.
Evidently on the strength of continuing information provided by Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative and Pakistani American David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, who was an integral protagonist in the conspiracy that led to the horrific 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, four new Lashkar handlers of Headley have been chargesheeted in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Chicago).
Two young South Asian Americansan Indian American and a Pakistani Americanwho are rising stars in the United States strategic affairs community, were the featured panelists on the discussion of Nuclear Risk Reduction in South Asia after Mumbai at the 2011 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference in Washington, DC at the Ronald Reagan Building Convention Center.
There are some embarrassed faces, some awkward silences in newspapers and television channels in North India. They belong to some of those journalists and academicians who availed the hospitality offered by Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, who ran the Kashmiri American Council, also known as the Kashmir Center.
I think Pakistan is politically more resilient than many people believe, all it needs is a chance, says Ayesha Jalal, one of Pakistan's most acclaimed historians.
Controversial Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz has said he had been assured by the US of its support during his upcoming visit to Pakistan to testify before a judicial panel probing the memo scandal.
The verdict in the trial of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, co-accused in the Mumbai terror attacks with David Coleman Headley, is likely to come in earlier than expected as the Chicago businessman is unlikely to testify at his own trial. Rana's attorney Patrick Blegen said his client's defence team was still making a final decision, but that it was unlikely Rana would take the stand.
Mumbai attack co-accused David Coleman Headley on Wednesday testified he had conducted a surveillance of the German Bakery in Pune and identified Chabad houses in Delhi, Pushkar and Pune as potential bombing targets.
American law enforcement authorities are investigating a plot to bomb stations along the Washington Metro system, The Washington Post reported. The report said that the investigation was focused on a naturalized American citizen, who hailed from Pakistan. Thirty-four year old Farooque Ahmed, of Ashburn, is believed to have conceived of the plot. Ahmed is expected to appear in court scheduled for 1400 hrs (local time).
The Inter Services Intelligence was heavily involved in preparations for the Mumbai terror attacks, according to classified Indian government documents obtained by The Guardian newspaper
On the eve of third anniversary of 26/11 Mumbai attacks, former home secretary G K Pillai on Friday accused the United States of entering into plea bargain with one of the key accused David Headley without taking India into confidence.
Antoinette Stephen, 27, was charged with first degree murder and other charges in the killing of Pakistani-American woman Nazish Noorani, 26, in Boonton, New Jersey on August 16.
The influential pro-Pakistan lobby has launched a concerted campaign urging US President Barack Obama to visit Pakistan during his trip to India November 6-9.
Describing it as "frivolous", the Bombay high court on Wednesday rejected a defence lawyer's petition seeking removal of Ujjwal Nikam as special public prosecutor in the 26/11 attacks case.
The United States will find it difficult to seek extradition of a Pakistani-American doctor, accused of playing a key role in a plot to funnel Inter-Services Intelligence's cash into the US, from Pakistan, as he is a "respected figure" and owns one of the leading hospitals in Islamabad, according to a media report.
Ahmadis are designated non-Muslims in Pakistan's Constitution and their beliefs are considered blasphemous in most mainstream Islamic schools of thought.
Expressing deep concern over sudden spurt in hate crimes against ethnic and religious minorities, several top lawmakers have asked President-elect Donald Trump to rescind his recent appointment of Stephen K Bannon as his chief strategist.
Seeking to downplay the Headley controversy, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon said on Tuesday, that the access given by the US to the Pakistani-American terrorist was "unprecendented", saying such cooperation may not have been possible five years ago.
Terrorist David Headley was ready to double cross his comrades-in-arms after his 2009 arrest and had prepared to setup dreaded Al Qaeda commander Ilyas Kashmiri to be targeted in a United States drone strike.
David Coleman Headley, co-accused in the Mumbai terror attacks, lied to the law enforcement agencies and implicated Tawahhur Hussain Rana in the plot in a bid to save his life, defence attorneys said on Wednesday.
The Mumbai attack trial in a United States court resumed on Tuesday with co-accused David Headley testifying that Al Qaeda leader Ilyas Kashmiri had a plan to kill CEO of Lockheed Martin in frustration over drone attacks along the Af-Pak border.
Mumbai attack co-accused David Headley on Thursday told a US court that a Pakistani Navy man was present during discussions with his ISI handler Major Iqbal on landing sites and arrival of Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists by sea.
American and Pakistani experts on the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lakshar-e-Tayiba, which perpetrated the horrific 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, said at a terrorism seminar in Washington, DC that even though no hard evidence existed of a nexus between the LeT and criminal elements like the Dawood Ibrahim Company or even the Naxals, it couldn't be ruled out completely.
A day after 26/11 terror accused David Headley described him as an important contact, Shiv Sena member Rajaram Rege on Wednesday said that he had a short interaction with the Pakistani-American and he had told the National Investigation Agency everything about him. Though Headley described Rege as the Shiv Sena's Public Relations Officer, the party has said it does not have any post like that.On his meeting with Headley, Rege said, "It was a two-second interaction".
'Headley and his counsel agreed to the meetings (with the Indian investigators) and Headley answered the Indian investigators' questions over the course of seven days of interviews. There were no restrictions on the questions posed by Indian investigators,' said a statement from the US Justice Department
The Pentagon leadership has strongly denied reports that it has pressurised Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Kayani to extend the military's anti-Taliban operations into North Waziristan, in the wake of the botched Times Square bombing attempt by Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad, who received terror training in that region.
Raja Lahrasib Khan, the 56-year-old Pakistani American cab driver accused of sending some few thousand dollars to Al Qaeda leader Ilyas Kashmiri filed a motion for his release in a US court.
Pakistan military on Wednesday dismissed as 'fabricated' reports that Pakistani-American David Headley, who confessed to plotting Mumbai attacks, had named three army and Inter Services Intelligence officials for their involvement in the 26/11 strikes, claiming that it was an attempt to malign security agencies.
As the Chicago court prepares its verdict in the case of Pakistani-American terror accused Tawwahur Rana, Indian agencies wait with bated breath for the result.
It was not only Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Coleman Headley's two wives, but also five other sources who had provided tip offs to the United States intelligence authorities about his anti-India plans, a news report said on Saturday.
Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, who pleaded guilty to plotting the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and conducting reconnaissance for likely targets, will have to undergo a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. According to United States attorney office's spokesperson Randall Samborn, life imprisonment without probation is the maximum sentence that Headley can get."Probation means no jail term, but I said he's not eligible for probation so that's irrelevant," said Samborn.
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