M A I N   N E W S

India satisfied with progress of talks on Headley
Girja Shankar Kaura
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 4
India today said it was yet to get access to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operative David Headley, but was satisfied with the progress of talks with the USA over access to the terror suspect linked to the Mumbai terror attack.

“Not yet,” Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said when asked whether India had been granted access to Headley by the USA, who had confessed in a US court to having played a key role in the Mumbai terror attack.

However, she said, “We are satisfied with the progress these negotiations have made,” referring to the LeT activist.

Asked whether India had any hope of getting the access, she said the two countries had “extensive cooperation” between agencies on terrorism in general and the Headley case in particular. “We have had good cooperation on this issue. The Ministry of Home Affairs and related agencies are in touch with their US counterparts. We are satisfied with the progress these negotiations have made,” she added.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram has repeatedly stated that it wanted access to Headley, who scouted for locations in Mumbai and other places in India for the LeT to attack.

The USA has shared with India a lot of information based on his interrogation, but has so far refused access to him, citing legal difficulties.

Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, said on Friday that while the USA was committed to “full information sharing”, no decision had been made on direct access to Headley for Indian investigators.

“And you know, the US Department of Justice is working with the Government of India to discuss the modalities for such cooperation. But again, no decision has been made on that,” he said.

Ten Pakistani terrorists belonging to the LeT sneaked into Mumbai in November 2008 and went on a killing spree, leaving 166 foreigners as well as Indians dead.