Deposing for the third day after his cross-examination began on Wednesday, Headley said Yousuf Raza Gilani, former Pak PM, had visited his house after the 26/11 attacks.
'Perhaps the biggest indication was its striking decision in November to delink LeT from its aid certification process.' 'The administration decided that the US, in order to send military aid to Pakistan, would not need to certify that Pakistan is cracking down on LeT.' 'Perhaps the administration was trying to offer a carrot -- in effect, we're backing off on LeT, but in return we expect you (Pakistan) to go after the Haqqanis.' 'Either way, the optics were dreadful for the US given that Hafiz Saeed was released from house arrest a few days after the US move.' 'The US reacted angrily, but eventually it moved on, and refocused on its core concern: The Afghan-focused terror groups.'
Rana knew about my association with LeT. I informed him about the training imparted by me to LeT operatives. I disclosed to Rana that I was spying for LeT. This was four to five months before the 26/11 attacks," said Headley.
Pakistan's holy trinity -- its government, military establishment and the ISI -- differ on Pakistan's domestic and foreign policy issues. So when India talks to Pakistan's political leadership it can't be sure that the promises can be delivered, says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
India and the United States are working on efforts to improve cooperation on UN terrorist designations and expand the sharing of information on known or suspected terrorists "no matter where they may be located," says US Ambassador to India Richard Verma
Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed's detention may help ease India-Pakistan tension, media reports in Islamabad said on Tuesday even as supporters of the Mumbai attack mastermind launched protests across major cities against the government's decision which they say was taken under pressure from the US and India.
'The Senators were playing safe, not angering either the pro-India lobby or the pro-Pakistan lobby, but perhaps more importantly, the military-industrial complex -- the most powerful lobby of all -- which the majority of Senators are beholden to in terms of largesse to their campaign coffers.'
The Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative also revealed about his training while he deposed in front of a Mumbai court via video link.
Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley on Thursday exposed how Inter-Services Intelligence and Lashkar-e-Tayiba majorly funded terror operations in India.
Testifying before a Mumbai court for the second day on Tuesday, Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley said LeT had planned to attack Indian defence scientists at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai and that he was asked by Pakistan's ISI to recruit Indian armymen to spy for them.
India'Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been congratulated for his speedy diplomacy and his talks with Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. However, academic Christine Fair and former Pakistan ambassador to US Husain Haqqani dismiss the meeting, calling it merely a photo-op and an exercise in futility. Aziz Haniffa reports.
'Why do we continue giving them money when we know of all the bad things they are doing?'
'The Pakistan army feels it can inflict a similar defeat on India in Kashmir and make it "India's Bangladesh".' 'But comparing Bangladesh of 1971 with the Kashmir valley of 2017 is like equating chalk and cheese!'
If viewed as a part of the Al Qaeda's radicalisation effort to produce jihadists out of discontented Muslim youth in India, the call could well have a much larger dimension, both in the near as well as long term, directly impacting on national security, says Bibhu Prasad Routray.
Former chief of R&AW C D Sahay dismisses comments linking the Gujarat riots and Babri Masjid demolition to the formation of the Indian Mujahideen
'The Modi government would chaff at the very idea of holding talks with Pakistan, facilitated by Washington and under close US monitoring, when the 2019 poll is sailing into view.' 'But in politics and diplomacy, there may be moments when drinking from the chalice of poison is necessary,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
What Headley's testimony does achieve is expose the Congress' ham-fisted attempts to taint an otherwise credible probe. That, however, does not become an assertion of Ishrat's membership of the LeT.
Girls in the Kashmir valley hurling defiance at the security forces will detract from the legitimacy of India's response and its standing in the world, says Ajai Shukla.
A realistic assessment will tell us that not much has changed between India and Pakistan; the relationship remains as fraught as before with little prospect of reconciliation, notes Ajai Shukla.
Experts trace the reasons for the 26/11 attacks to the Pakistan's military interest in three key areas: Kashmir, Afghanistan and nuclear armaments.
'The clique that runs that country is treating us like suckers. We are very foolish, giving people money who involve themselves in activity that's harmful to America.' 'When you look at the cold hard facts, Pakistan is not an ally to the United States. They have facilitated, they have encouraged, they have been a protector of enemies.'
'Just this week, the Indians killed a Kashmiri terrorist, who is a member of Hizbul Mujahideen.' 'This is a nasty terrorist organisation, and did Pakistan welcome this killing?' 'No, in fact, they denounced it and referred to him as a Kashmiri separatist.' 'These Kashmiri terrorist groups have been aided by the Pakistani State.'
'Washington is telegraphing here is its willingness to support a low-grade, limited use of force meant to send a strong message to Pakistan.' 'Perhaps something along the lines of the surgical strikes in 2016, or perhaps something a bit more -- but not much more.'
'This is the first time the US has formally recognised the threat India faces from terrorist organisations based in Pakistan.'
Even as France mourns the bloodiest terrorist attack for 20 years, let's take a look at some major standoffs witnessed in the past:
'The Ishrat encounter was neither genuine, nor fake. I believe it was a 'controlled killing,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'Unsurprisingly, the joint statement issued after Modi's visit contains a paragraph on terrorism.' 'It is on the usual lines that India would have with, say, Croatia.' 'The surprising part is that it shies away from getting into specifics,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan's hawkish Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who did little to change the force's India-centric stance, will leave the world's sixth-largest army grappling with a host of security challenges when he steps down on Friday.
Nawaz Sharif may have permitted the trial of Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists for the Pathankot attack. But this fell apart because of General Raheel Shareef's keenness to make Kulbhushan Jadhav the centerpiece of global attention. Ambassador G Parthasarthy, a former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan, reveals the Pakistan army chief's gambit against India.
Immediately after India launched its surgical strikes, sources said, it had informed the US of its action.
'If the bulk of the Pakistan population and the all powerful army are now against radical elements, there is indeed hope that Pakistan's India policy will be more realistic and less ideology driven,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
It would be foolish for Pakistan to assume that India would not act no matter what the provocation is, just because it is militarily more powerful than Myanmar and is armed with nuclear weapons, says Anand Kumar.
'The obsession of the Pakistan army with India leads to several destabilising things. Support for the Taliban in Afghanistan. Support for groups like the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, that have attacked India. Every time you get an attack like that there is a possibility of a war. And then the build up of the their nuclear arsenals. Chances of a nuclear weapon landing in the hands of a terrorist group, or a nuclear war breaking out, are tiny. But they are higher here than anywhere else in the world.'
Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the Al Qaeda were convinced that 26/11 attack masterminds Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rehman would face only "superficial" action from the Pakistani authorities and within months plans were afoot for another terror strike in India, Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley said on Saturday.
'There is a consensus within the Indian security establishment -- at least among those who draw their conclusions from data instead of speaking from nationalist sentiment -- that India lacks the offensive capability to defeat Pakistan in a short war.'
'The talks held in Bangkok, virtually on Indian terms, is an event where Pakistan seems to have blinked first.'
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The eternal question remains unanswered, what price security and what cost liberty, says Vikram Sood.
Countries in the region like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Maldives face serious existential threats from a mix of terrorist groups active in the region and elsewhere
'When it comes to India-Pakistan relations, seminal moments of progress invariably bring out saboteurs of peace -- whether we're talking about fresh provocations along the LoC, or even a terror attack in India.'
Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley, convicted in the US for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, on Thursday told a court in Mumbai that terror outfit Lashkar-e-Tayiba wanted to eliminate Bal Thackeray but the person who was assigned the job to kill the late Shiv Sena chief was arrested.
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