On Day 2, Headley Reveals ISI, LeT, Pak Army Behind 26/11 Attack
David Headley, main accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, is being deposed via video conference.
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Day 3 Deposition
Daood Gilani aka David Headley’s deposition via video conferencing will continue tomorrow.
Confessions on Day 2
- Abdul Rehman alias Major Pasha is a retired Pakistan Army General.
- Major Pasha was associated with LeT, then joined al-Qaeda.
- ISI told Headley to infiltrate Indian army, gather intel & recruit Indian spies.
- 2003: Headley met JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar in South Lahore.
- 2006: Met Major Iqbal for the first time at some house in Lahore. A Col. from Pak Army was also present.
- Sept ‘06: Arrived for the first time in Mumbai from Karachi, Pakistan.
- Stayed at Taj Hotel from 14-28 September 2006.
- Also stayed as paying guest near Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai.
- Jan ‘08: Headley’s wife Faiza, filed a complaint in Pakistan against him for suspecting terrorist activities.
- LeT in conjunction with ISI plotted 26/11 attack.
- Headley asks Hafiz Saeed, Lakhvi to ‘legally challenge’ US ban on Lashkar.
- Before taking challenge to court, Lakhvi consulted ISI.
- Nov ‘07: Meeting in Muzaffarabad with Sajid Mir, Abu Khafa and Headley.
- Nov ‘07: Attack on Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai finalised.
- ISI provide financial, moral and military support to LeT.
- Headley has heard that Brigadier Riyaz is a handler for Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
ISI Provides Financial Support to LeT
Special public prosecutor Nikam told the media that Headley confessed that ISI supports LeT and JeM with military, financial and moral support.
Headley also confessed to be working for ISI, where he met many people from the Pakistan army.
Ujjwal Nikam asked Headley who he knew in the ISI, he said Headley named Brigadier Riyaz, Colonel Shah, Lt Colonel Hamza and Major Samar Ali.
Headley added, ‘I have heard that Brigadier Riyaz is a handler for Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi’.
Mock Taj Mahal Palace Hotel
While testifying, Headley confessed that they made a mock of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.
Set Up
On 14 September 2006, Headley arrived in Mumbai to set up his office. He also stayed at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel from the 14 to the 28 of September.
Special public prosecutor Nikam showed him the Taj Hotel guest register with signatures, Headley instantly recognized them.
Surveillance
When he came back in 2007, Headley confesses to have done surveillances multiple times in The Taj Hotel. He added that in particular, LeT’s Sajid Mir asked that he conducted surveillances on the second floor of the Hotel when he was staying there with his wife Faiza.
Sajid Mir specifically asked Headley to conduct a surveillance of Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai.
After handing over the surveillance of the second floor of the Taj Hotel, Sajid Mir and Major Iqbal were allegedly satisfied with Headley’s videography and photography.
Multiple Landing Sites Surveilled
Multiple targets included Taj Mahal Palace Hotel (Mumbai), Naval Air station, Maharashtra Police state headquarters, Oberoi Hotel and CST were surveilled as landing sites.
In addition, a video of Bhagat Singh Marg road in Colaba was also made by Headley.
CST was not a target, but an exit point for terrorists, media reports.
GPS
Abu Khafa and Sajid Mir gave Headley a GPS where he could store the multiple locations he was surveilling. Of the many locations, sites in the Arabian sea were also stored on the GPS.
Once the surveillance was conducted, Headley handed over the location loaded GPS to Sajid Mir.
Headley apparently used a Sony Ericsson phone to record footage.
‘Didn’t Know It Would Be Targeted’
Headley told the Mumbai court that prior to 2007, he had taken videos and photos of the Taj Hotel but he was unaware that it was going be targeted.
In court, Headley said that the reason for attacking the Taj was for ‘logistic reasons’. When Ujjwal Nikam countered him asking what logistics, he responded saying ‘getting personnels and weapons.’
Why Mumbai?
Special prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam asked Headley why Mumbai was particularily targeted. He responded saying he didn’t know why and he didn’t do any inquiry of the same.
Tahawwur Hussain Rana
Dr. Rana, who in 2013 was sentenced to 14-years in prison for being a part of the 26/11 terror attacks by supporting LeT, apparently gave Headley permission to set-up an office in Mumbai.
Bashir Sheikh, a friend of Dr. Rana, picked up Headley from the airport in September 2006, when he first arrived in Mumbai from Karachi, Pakistan. Headley had never met Sheikh before this.
Devika Rotawan, Witness
Devika Rotawan, the girl who was shot in the leg by terrorist Ajmal Kasab, in the 26/11 attacks and was also the youngest witness in the case who identified the terrorist in the courts, on Tuesday said that considering David Headley’s statements the mastermind behind the gruesome attack should be hanged to death.
Maulana Masood Azhar
David Headley admits that in October 2003, he met Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Mazhar a hundred miles away from south Lahore. He said there was a gathering of LeT members where Azhar was the guest speaker.
At the same gathering, Azhar made a speech about his activities in India and about his release.
November 2007, Attack Finalised
Headley confesses that in November 2007, a meeting took place in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan. It was attended by Sajid Mir, Abu Khafa and himself. This is where the attack was finalised.
LeT, he confesses, had information about some meeting of ‘Indian defence scientists’ in the conference hall of Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. They wanted to attack it, he says.
Headley also confesses that he knows al-Qaeda, terming it as a ‘terrorist organisation’. Adding that, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi was the operation commander of LeT.
Headley tells the Mumbai court that LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammaed, Hizbul Mujahideen and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen are all allies of United Jihad Council working in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). He admits before the Mumbai Court that all these are terrorist organizations in Pakistan working against India.
‘Legally Challenge’ Ban on Lashkar
Headley tells Mumbai court that he advised Hafiz Saeed and LeT’s leader Lakhvi to ‘legally challenge’ the US government ban on Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Headley went on to confess that LeT in conjuction with ISI planned 26/11 attack, that killed over 160 people.
Lakhvi consulted ISI at every step.
Faiza Filed a Complaint Against Headley
Headley just confessed that Faiza, his wife, filed a complaint against him at the US Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan in January 2008. She suspected that Headley was involved in terrorist activities.
Abdul Rehman aka Major Pasha
Headley confesses that Major Pasha was associated with LeT and subsequently joined al-Qaeda. Headley met Lakhvi for the first time in 2003 in a Lahore mosque.
Headley adds that ISI told him to infiltrate the Indian army, gather intel and also recruit Indian spies.
Abdul Rahman alias Major Pasha is a retired Pakistan army general. He was in charge of weapons training of LeT cadres.
Deposition Via Video Conferencing
Day two of Headley’s deposition has begun. The questioning is expected to go on until noon.
Special Prosecutor Arrives
Confessions on Day 1
- Headley confesses that he was ‘handled’ by ISI’s major Sameer and Iqbal.
- Lakshar-e-Taiba leader Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi’s handler was ISI’s Brigadier Rivaz.
- LeT’s Sajid Mir was main contact.
- Pakistan’s intelligence agency Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Shuja Pusha visited Lakhvi after his arrest in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.
- He falsified his information of visa application.
- 2006, he changed his name from Daood Syed Gilani to David Headley.
- Made two failed attempts at Mumbai attacks before 26/11.
- Apart from Mumbai, Headley was sent out to recce the Vice President’s house and the CBI office.
- Arms for the 26/11 attack were smuggled into India by a man from the Khyber area.
26/11: How it Played Out
- June 2006, he established a branch office of his friend Tahawwur Hussain, Rana’s immigration business in Mumbai.
- Between Sept 2006 and Sept 2007, Headley made eight visits to India.
- Visited Mumbai seven times to do survey for plotting the 26/11 terror attack.
- 2009 Headley also visit Copenhagen to plot the terror attack on the office of Danish Newspaper Jyllands-Posten, that published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
- Oct 2009, Headley was arrested at Chicago International airport.
- In the US court he agreed to cooperate and pleaded guilty in 2010 to 12 counts, including conspiracy to commit murder in India, to avoid death sentence.
- A four-member team of NIA had interrogated Headley in Chicago from June 3-9, 2010.
- Headley was sentenced to 35 years in prison by a US court in Jan 2013 for his role in 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
Who is Headley?
- David Headley’s original name was Daood Syed Gilani.
- He was born to a Pakistani father and an American mother on 30 June 1960.
- Brought up by his father as a devout Muslim in Pak and moved to USA at 17.
- 1998, Headley convicted of conspiring to smuggle heroin into US from Pakistan.
- Served less than two years in jail.
- Went to Pakistan as undercover informer for US Drug enforcement admin.
- 2006, he changed his name to David Headley and came in contact with Lashkar Militant and ISI officers.
- In December 2015, Headley was pardoned by a Mumbai court after he turned approver.
- He accepted the court’s conditions including disclosure of the “full and true facts” leading to the 26/11 attacks and his role in it.
- He also secured a promise not to be extradited to India.
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