US agrees to give India access to Headley

NEW DELHI: The US government has agreed to take "suitable steps" to facilitate direct access for Indian authorities to Lashker operative David

Coleman Headley, a statement put out by the Indian embassy in Washington has said.



The aforesaid agreement between India and US was reached at an April 27 meeting in Washington comprising solicitor-general Gopal Subramanium and US attorney-general Eric Holder. After detailed discussions on the Headley case, the two sides finalised a mutual commitment for the best possible co-operation in their common fight against terrorism.



"The two partners agreed to take suitable steps to bring about direct access by Indian authorities to David Headley as soon as possible," said the Indian embassy statement.



"The partnership between India and the United States recognises the high priority to be accorded to each country's national security. Both countries recognised the need for investigations to reach a fruitful and successful outcome," it added.



Headley was arrested by FBI in October, 2009, for conspiring and plotting terror attacks in Indian and Denmark. He recently entered into a plea agreement with the US authorities, pleading guilty on all the 12 criminal counts against him, including his role in the Mumbai attacks conspiracy. In exchange, the US prosecutors agreed that he would not be extradited to a third country, including India, or face death penalty.



Given that he also agreed to truthfully cooperate with any foreign investigations into terror cases and plots he may be linked to, India is now keen to have direct access to him to unearth more details of his terror reconnaissance mission in India.



India has been working on such access by studying the legal systems in the US and liaisoning with its department of justice to request permission for questioning Headley.



Mr Subramanium had, in his legal opinion on the Headley access issue submitted to the home ministry last month, recommended that the government not only seek direct access to Headley for questioning but also ask for his extradition under the provisions of the Indo-US extradition treaty and the mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT). However, MHA is more keen, as of now, to seek face-to-face access to the LeT operative to gather additional details of his terror missions here.



Speaking to a private news channel from Washington, Mr Subramanium described his meeting with US attorney-general Eric Holder as successful and said "the entire purpose of the visit has been achieved."



"We are going to work very closely. I do hope this signals the beginning of an era where inputs will be shared," he said.



According to Mr Subramanium, India and US respected each other's legal systems. "The most important point is that there is a great amount of clarity, goodwill and respect and way forward will shortly be in place," he said.



The solicitor-general said the US government was extremely conscious and viewed India as a partner in the fight against terror. "We are delighted that all concerns have been mutually discussed and clarified...We have been able to move forward," he stated.



"I do hope that this signals the beginning of an era of continued co-operation...The entire exercise, the attitude the positivism with which we have had our discussions, leads me to believe that everyone is going to do their best to ensure that the truth is unravelled and that investigations will reach a logical end," he noted.
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