He admitted that he had met both Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT) commander Hafeez Saeed and then operational commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
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He said, “In August 2004, I interacted with Hafiz Saeed, Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi”.
“He (Headley) has confirmed that he joined Lashkar-e-Taiba after being influenced by Hafiz Saeed”, Headley’s lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani told reporters after the 55-year-old appeared before the Mumbai court via a video link from the US.
INDIA is likely to give Pakistan fresh evidence about the involvement of ISI officers in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack after Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley’s deposition before a Mumbai court today.
Giving details about plans to target India’s commercial capital, Headley said, “In November-December 2007, the LeT held a meeting in Muzaffarabad (in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) which was attended by (LeT operatives) Sajid Mir and Abu Kahfa”.
During Monday’s hearing, Headley more or less repeated what he had told a U.S. court – that he had met with a man called Sajid Mir of the LeT, changed his name, got a new passport and visited Mumbai seven times.
According to Nikam, Headley told the court on Tuesday that he had surveyed various locations in Mumbai, including Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station, the Taj Mahal Palace hotel and Oberoi hotel.
David Headley depose before Mumbai court through VideoWell: Lashkar-e-taiba terrorist David Coleman Headley is testifying just before Mumbai court through video conference from U.S. In from where he doing this it doesn’t come out and that could be a undisclosed location. Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said that when asked whom he knew in the ISI, David Headley named Brigadier Riyaz, Colonel Shah, Lt Colonel Hamza and Major Samar Ali. The two failed attempts took place in September and October 2008, Headley said. “ISI offered monetary, army and ethical help to terror outfits Jaish-e-Mohammed, LeT and Hizbul Mujaideen”, he stated and went on to say that his opinion was shaped on the idea of rumour. He also said that Major Iqbal gave him training in weapons and ideology and that he was taught that India had to be fought because it was an “enemy of Islam”. He said that he changed his name from Dawood Gilani to David Headley in 2006 for the ease to enter India and set up some business. Headley is serving 35 years of prison sentence in the USA for his role in the terror attacks. Among conditions imposed to grant the pardon, the court had said that Headley would have to disclose the full and true facts within his knowledge, that led to the attacks.
Headley’s confessions will be helpful in unraveling a number of mysteries related to 26/11 attack besides making Pakistan accountable for several charges that it has denied so far. Headley has given certain sensational revelations during his deposition. Nikam also submitted a picture of alleged mastermind and Pakistani national Hafiz Saeed before the court.
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Asked if Headley will be freed from the Chicago jail following his testimony in the Mumbai case, he said it was an issue for the Justice Department to comment on.
