Pakistani authorities had told United States officials that the statements given by David Headley, the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks suspect, to American investigative agencies would not carry any value in Pakistan's courts and would be treated as "hearsay with little evidentiary" value.
Although Headley has confessed to the FBI that he had conducted a recce of the targets in Mumbai, this is will not be enough to nail him in India. Only if Headley confesses the same details to Indian agencies can the confessions be used in the 26/11 case in India, said investigators
Opposition leaders in India have expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of the deportation of Indian illegal immigrants from the United States during his recent visit. They criticized the manner in which the Indians were sent back, shackled and handcuffed on a military aircraft. The leaders also discussed the need for India to address the root causes of migration and the importance of national interest in diplomatic relations with the United States.
The US is constantly working at the "highest levels" to provide direct access to India as "quickly" as it can to Lashkar operative David Headley, who has confessed to plotting the Mumbai attacks.
A total of nine terror sites in Pakistan, including five in Pojk, linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (Let) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (Jem), were targeted with meticulous planning to avoid civilian casualties.
The precision with which the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks were carried out is something that shocked the entire world. The attackers seemed to know their way around the targets -- in a similar manner as one would go about in his own home! This could have been possible, thanks to the nearly 18 hours of video footage that was made available to the ten gunmen who unleashed violence on Mumbai last year, killing scores of innocent people.
Even as a team of the Federal Bureau of Investigation gets ready to share a mammoth dossier on David Headley and Tawwahur Rana, Indian agencies are bracing themselves to gather information on the duo.
The US Supreme Court has denied the application of Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, seeking a stay on his extradition to India. Rana, currently detained in Los Angeles, had submitted the application after Associate Justice Elena Kagan initially denied it. Despite a renewed appeal, the Supreme Court ultimately rejected the request.
American nationals and relatives of those killed in Mumbai terror attacks want the confessed Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Headley to take the stand in a New York law suit they have filed against Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence for plotting the attack.
Senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, who led India's arguments for the extradition of 26/11 accused Tahawwur Rana in a United States court, is set to lead the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) prosecution in Delhi.
Four months after the involvement of American terror suspect David Headley in 26/11 attacks came to light, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's son Rahul Bhatt is still to come to terms with the "betrayal of faith" by the US national whom he now calls a "terror jackal" and an "absolute monster".
The Federal Bureau of Investigation team has arrived in New Delhi and is holding discussions with its Indian counterparts. The main focus of the discussion will revolve round the role played by both David Headley and Tawwahur Rana in the Mumbai 26/11 attack.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raised the issue of India getting access to 26/11 plotter David Headley with President Barack Obama, who said the US was fully supportive of the request and working through legal processes for giving it.
Union Home Secretary Gopal K Pillai said a Commission may even be sent to the United States for getting evidence, may be from Headley, his wife and from other people, for which it would talk to the US authorities.
A United States court on Wednesday allowed media outlets access to parts of the video tapes, which were played during the trial of Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Headley's childhood friend and 26/11 attacks co-accused Tahawwur Rana.
American terror suspect David Headley arrested by the FBI for allegedly plotting terror attacks in India used to visit a golf course in Mumbai frequented by western diplomats and businessmen and is believed to have struck a rapport with them.
The questioning of American Lashker-e-Taiba terrorist David Headley is going to revolve around the places he had visited after the Mumbai terror attacks and the people he had remained in touch with during his stay in India. A three-member team of National Investigation Agency, which along with a public prosecutor is expected to leave for the United States on Monday.
All bottlenecks have been removed and a new team will be sent to the US to pursue the matter of India's access to David Headley, who has confessed to his involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks, Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium said on Saturday.
The issue of granting India access to Lashkar-e Tayiba operative David Headley is being taken up by the US government at the highest level, its Ambassador Timothy J Roemer said Monday as he met Home Minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi.
The home ministry will soon write to the US department of justice seeking a date for having direct access to Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist David Headley, who is currently under American custody.
Former interior minister Rehman Malik has termed Pakistani-American terrorist's testimony in the 2008 Mumbai attack case as "a pack of lies".
The 64-year-old Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman would also be questioned on his suspected links with the officials of Pakistan spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and his association with terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which had orchestrated the attacks.
'It is ensured that no adversaries or people who oppose Tahawwur Rana's philosophy are housed in the same ward or jail.' 'Additionally, it is ensured that he does not have any prior contacts within that jail.' 'So, the lodgment of such a high-profile prisoner is done very carefully.'
A court in New Delhi has sent Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, to 18 days of National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody. The court cited the need for sustained interrogation to uncover the extent of the conspiracy and the involvement of multiple targets across India, including New Delhi. Rana, a Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman and close associate of 26/11 conspirator David Coleman Headley, was extradited to India after the US Supreme Court dismissed his review plea against his extradition.
David Headley and Tawahur Rana who had surveyed several targets in Mumbai which were attacked by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba were in Pakistan at the time of the Mumbai attack, Home secretary G K Pillai said.
Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam on Wednesday said that a Letters Rogatory shall be obtained from the special Mumbai court -- where the 26/11 terror attack trial is currently going on -- seeking information about Lashkar-e-Tayiba operatives David Headley and Tahawwur Rana and their involvement in the terror strike.Letters Rogatory is 'a customary method of obtaining judicial assistance from abroad in the absence of a treaty or executive agreement between two countries.
'There is nothing in Headley's testimony. Where is he saying anything? He says, 'I don't know, I don't know.' He says 'I overheard somebody's speech.' Is this evidence? This is double hearsay.' 'If this (the Ishrat Jahan encounter) investigation is really carried out further it points to the heart of BJP's political leadership. And therefore they want you to distract you and say terrorist, terrorist.'
Faiza Outalha, an estranged wife of American-born Lashkar e Tayiba terrorist David Headley, has replied to all questions of the National Investigation Agency relating to her knowledge of the conspiracy behind the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
India is likely to press for access to Tahawwur Hussain Rana, and wife and two girlfriends of Mumbai attack terrorist David Headley during Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde's visit to the United States next week.
The United States has extradited Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Hussain Rana to India to face charges for his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Rana, 64, was convicted in the US in 2011 for providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistani militant group responsible for the Mumbai attacks. The US Department of State said it has long supported India's efforts to bring those responsible for the attacks to justice and that the extradition is a critical step towards seeking justice for the victims. Rana's extradition comes after the US Supreme Court denied his last-ditch attempt to evade extradition. He will now face justice in India for his role in the attacks which killed 166 people, including six Americans.
Devika Rotawan, a survivor of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, has demanded the death penalty for Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused extradited from the US. Rotawan, a key witness in the case, identified terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Kasab in court during the trial. She believes the extradition is a "big win" for India and called for further action against other conspirators in Pakistan.
Mumbai attack terrorist David Headley, who is currently in American custody, has been opposing his further interrogation by Indian investigators.
Headley is currently serving 35 years in an American prison after being convicted of being involved in the planning and execution of the Mumbai terrorist attack.
The hugely significant development comes just days after Rana's last-resort attempt to evade extradition to India failed after the US Supreme Court justices denied his application, moving him closer to being handed over to Indian authorities to face justice in the dastardly attacks.
The US-based wife of American-born LeT terrorist David Headley and his business partner have "refused" to answer questions posed by NIA, citing a privacy clause.
Tahawwur Rana, accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has renewed his application to the US Supreme Court seeking a stay of his extradition to India. The Supreme Court will hear the application next month. Rana, currently detained in Los Angeles, claims his extradition would violate US law and expose him to torture in India due to his health and Muslim background. The US government has denied these claims and authorized his surrender to India, citing the Extradition Treaty between the two countries. The Supreme Court's decision will determine if Rana will face justice in India or remain in the United States.
However, the Pakistani-American LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi stopped him, saying something more "adventurous" was in store for him.
'India has established probable cause to prosecute him for his role in terrorist attacks that resulted in 166 deaths and 239 injuries'
Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 terror attacks case, stayed at a hotel in Mumbai's Powai area for two days in November 2008 ahead of the attacks, where he discussed about the crowded places in south Mumbai with a witness in the case, the police said on Tuesday.
'The government has to explain (to the army, air force and navy chiefs) whether they want a punitive strike, a deep punitive strike, or whether they want limited war or an all-out war, will it be a circumscribed war or will it be a shallow attack along the border.'
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