Headley, 54, provided details of his passport and his seven-eight trips to Mumbai and one to New Delhi between 2006 and 2008 before the Mumbai attacks, including seven via Pakistan, according to the official.
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In a four hour deposition before a Mumbai Sessions Court, 26/11 conspirator David Coleman Headley made several revelations about the Pakistan ISI’s role in training terrorists. Later, in November 2007, he met LeT top leaders when the proposed terror attacks on Mumbai were planned in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, he told special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.
An American who helped plot deadly attacks in Mumbai has told a court that Pakistan-based militants attempted two earlier assaults on the Indian city before killing 166 people in November 2008. “Headley revealed ISI provides financial, military and moral support to terrorist organisations like LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen”, he added.
Talking about his travel to India, the LeT operative said, “Before the first visit, (his LeT handler) Sajid Mir (also an accused in the case) gave me instructions to make a general video of Mumbai”.
Responding to another question from Nikam, Headley said he was not aware where Major Ali was serving at the time, but was aware that his headquarters was Khyber Rifle Regiment, a unit of the Pakistani army.
Headley also surveyed many other sites including the CST station, the police headquarters building, the Naval airbase, the Oberoi hotel and also the popular Siddhivinayak temple.
Speaking over the LeT involvement, Headley said, “I can not tell this court who specifically from LeT instructed to conduct terror acts in India. He wanted me to develop contacts with officials of Indian military forces with a objective to gather intelligence”, said Headley.
However, the plan to attack the conference hall in Taj was cancelled due to logistical reasons, “like it was not possible to sneak in weapons and personnel to the hall”, he said.
Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley has spilt the beans for the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI. Then in December 2015, a Mumbai court pardoned Headley in light of his willingness to turn approver.
The latter remained in constant touch with the terror group’s founder Hafiz Saeed and chief-of-operations Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
Headley was inspired by Hafiz Saeed’s speech in Muzzafarabad in 2002 and joined the terror organization Laskar-e-taiba.
– A retired Pakistan Army officer called Major Pasha was also associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba.
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It was Rana’s friend Basheer Sheikh who picked up Headley from the airport when he visited India for the first time.
