Headley: ISI gives financial support to JeM, LeT, Hizbul Mujaideen

Claiming that he worked for the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, US-based terrorist David Coleman Headley spilled the beans on the agency via a video conference on the second day of his deposition.

Headley disclosed that terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen targeting India are given financial and military support by the ISI.

Besides admitting to his links with the ISI, Headley also said that ISI official Brigadier Riyaz was the handler of LeT's top commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi - the mastermind of the November 26, 2008 attacks in Mumbai. He said the LeT as a whole is responsible for terror attacks in India on that Wednesday and it can be speculated that all orders come from Lakhvi since he is the top commander. The LeT operative also identified Lakhvi from a photograph shown to him and added that the ISI had asked him to recruit Indian Army men as spies.

"I was also working for ISI and had met many people from the Pakistan Army," he told the Special Judge GA Sanap. He named three officials of the Pakistan Army and ISI, Colonel Shah, Lt Colonel Hamza and Major Samir Ali, besides retired army officer Abdul Rehman Pasha, who was working closely with the LeT and Al-Qaeda. Headley said that according to his assessments the ISI and LeT were coordinating with each other. "ISI provides financial, military and moral support to terror outfits JeM, LeT and Hizbul Mujaideen," he said.

However, he added that his opinion was formed on the basis of hearsay.

Headley said he had visited Mumbai seven times to scout for targets and revealed that plans to attack Mumbai had started over a year before the attack in 2008. He added that LeT initially wanted to attack a conference of Indian defence scientists at the Taj Mahal Hotel, but the plan was dropped. He said he had also conducted a recce of the Siddhivinayak Temple and the Naval Air Station.

Divulging details about plans to target Mumbai, Headley said, "In November-December 2007, the LeT held a meeting in Muzaffarabad (in PoK) which was attended by LeT operatives Sajid Mir and Abu Kahfa. It was decided here that terror attacks would be conducted in Mumbai. The task of conducting a recce of Taj Hotel was assigned to me."

Headley said that Mir and Kahfa had information about a meeting of scientists in Taj and wanted to plan an attack at that time. "They also made a mock (dummy) of the Taj Hotel. The was plan to attack the conference hall, but it was cancelled due to logistical reasons, like it was not possible to get weapons and personnel into the hall," he said adding that another reason for dropping the plan was that he could not get details of the conference schedule.

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