Headley linking ISI to 26/11: Pak says he can't be trusted

From Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Jun 5 (PTI) Days after Pakistani-American
LeT operative David Headley implicated ISI in the Mumbai
attacks during his testimony in a US court, Interior Minister
Rehman Malik has described him as a convict who has "no
credibility and cannot be trusted."
In an apparent effort to play down Headley's testimony
that detailed the alleged links of ISI officials to the 2008
attacks in India's financial hub, Malik questioned whether
Headley could corroborate his claims about Pakistan's spy
agency.
"Headley's father was a Pakistani from a good family.
Headley himself is a criminal and a convict... This man has no
credibility and cannot be trusted," Malik told Newsweek
magazine in an interview.
Asked if he was concerned about Headley's testimony at
the US trial of Tahawwur Rana, another key suspect in the
Mumbai attacks, and its repercussions for Pakistan, Malik said
if Headley "has credible evidence that can stand in a court of
law to support his claim that he was being aided by the ISI,
he should present it."
"He's made videos of the places he was casing in
Mumbai. Does he have any recordings that corroborate his
claims against the so-called ISI major?" Malik said.
Testifying as a prosecution witness at Rana's trial in
a federal court in Chicago, 50-year-old Headley said he worked
with ISI officers, including one Major Iqbal, on planning and
facilitating the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.
He also told the court that the ISI coordinated
activities by LeT and other militant groups.

Six Pakistanis, including al-Qaeda-linked terror
mastermind Ilyas Kashmiri and Major Iqbal, have been indicted
by US authorities in the Mumbai conspiracy.
Malik contended that Pakistan's "hands are clean on
Mumbai, and India is aware of this."
He said: "We had no leads but managed to arrest seven
persons, non-state actors, with strong evidence of their
involvement in the attacks. We're trying these men in our
courts now."
He pointed out that the ISI had been "exonerated"
after being linked to the bombing of the Samjhauta Express
cross-border train in India.
"You'll see that happen in this (Mumbai) case, too,"
Malik said.
Asked if Pakistan was slow in moving against
terrorists and their supporters, he replied: "We asked India
to provide us substantive evidence against (LeT founder) Hafiz
Saeed, but we haven't received it yet.
"When we got complaints about his fiery speeches, we
detained him. But the courts ordered his release, and we
respect the courts.
"Our laws need to keep up with the times and the
threat. Wiretaps and video confessions are not permissible in
court. We have a new anti-terrorism bill that covers these
gaps and the draft will be tabled soon for Parliament's
approval," the minister said.
Though Pakistani authorities arrested seven suspects
linked to the Mumbai attacks, including LeT commander Zakiur
Rehman Lakhvi, on the basis of information provided by India
and the US, hardly any progress has been made in their trial
by an anti-terrorism court.
The judge has been changed thrice and only one out of
over 160 prosecution witnesses has testified since the trial
began almost two years ago.