Mumbai : The infamous Pakistani-American terrorist, David Coleman Headley, who owed allegiance to the dreaded Lashkar-e-Taiba, has turned an approver – that is, a prosecution witness in the 26/11 case – and has been granted pardon by a Mumbai court in a quid pro quo deal. He is now expected to spill the beans about his own role, that of co-conspirators and his handlers in Pakistan, especially conduit officers of the ISI, the Pakistani intelligence agency. In a dramatic development on Wednesday, he testified before the Mumbai court through video conferencing from an undisclosed location in the US and agreed to all the five conditions that were laid down by the city court. He would now depose as a prosecution witness on February 8, 2016. Headley is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence in the US for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Headley told the Sessions Court that he was ready to depose if given pardon. The special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, in turn, told the court that the prosecution was agreeable to the offer, subject to certain conditions, which were later spelt out by Judge G A Sanap.
This development is being regarded in the Union Home Ministry as a major breakthrough as the government does not have to take recourse to a laborious and painstaking extradition process. More-over, Headley can shed light on the entire 26/11 conspiracy hatched in Pakistan. This could have severe implications for Mum-bai terror mastermind Hafiz Saeed who is facing trial in Pakistan. Earlier, Headley had received through his attorney the charge sheet implicating him and has reportedly admitted that he was a participant in the terror offence. Headley had entered a plea agreement in the US and agreed to make himself available as a witness in the Mumbai court. In December 2011, the National Investigation Agency had filed a charge-sheet accusing Headley, his Pakistani-Canadian accomplice Tahawwur Rana, Lashkar founder Hafiz Saeed and seven others of conspiracy. The charge carries death penalty. Incidentally, during his questioning by officers of the National Investigation Agency, Headley had admitted that three senior Pakistan army officers played a prime role in the 26/11 attacks. The same Pakistani officers were reportedly named by Lashkar terrorist Abu Jundal, the alleged mastermind of the 26/11 attacks, against whom charges were framed last month in Mumbai. Atul Kulkarni, a senior police officer, told NDTV, “After weighing the pros and cons, we decided we will extract more by having him as an approver than as an accused, considering his plea bargain agreement in the US. All the necessary people have been kept in the loop.” Headley was arrested in October 2009 from Chicago while on his way to Pakistan.
