Wanted to fight in Kashmir: David Headley

Smoke is seen billowing out of the Taj Hotel in south Mumbai during security personnel’s ‘Operation Cyclone’ following the 26/11 attacks in 2008 — PTI

David Coleman Headley has revealed that he wanted to visit Kashmir to fight Indian troops but did not do so because he was told that he was too old. Headley, now an approver in the trial of the 26/11 terror attacks case, mentioned this in his statement before special judge G.A. Sanap.

Headley told the court, “Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi (of LeT) had told me that I was not fit to go to Kashmir and that they would use me for some other purpose.”

As it turned out, the ISI and Laskhar-e-Tayyaba went on to train and use Headley to gather intelligence and reconnoiter locations in the city.

While answering special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, Headley said that his mother was a US citizen and his father, Salim, was a Pakistani. Headley was born in the US on June 30, 1960, and soon after his birth his family shifted to Pakistan where he received primary education in Karachi Republic School (an army school). Later, he studied for two years in Hassan Abdal Cadre College in Punjab province of Pakistan and shifted back to the US at the age of 18.

“After listening to Hafiz Saeed’s speeches, I joined LeT in 2002 in Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir (Pakistan occupied Kashmir),” said Headley. He also said that Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and he treated India as their enemy. He also said that the LeT carries out terror activities all over India.

Headley had revealed details that were similar to what Ajmal Amir Kasab, the terrorist who was arrested in the 26/11 attacks, had mentioned, such as having undergone training in Daura-e-Aama, a preliminary military training course, and Daura-e-Khasa, a more advance training course where he was given training to handle sophisticated arms and explosives. However, since Headley was to be used for gathering intelligence — unlike other attackers — he was made to undergo other courses as well. Some of them included Daura-e-Sufa, where he was given leadership training and Daura-e-Ribat, under which he was taught how to gather intelligence, reconnoiter and build a safe house.

When Mr Nikam sought an explanation on safe houses, Headley explained that the term refers to a home that is in the enemy’s area in which the attacker can live on friendly terms with locals. While first two trainings were received in Muzaffarabad, the other courses were offered at Abbotabad in Mansera.

Headley applied to change his name in October 2005 and on February 15, 2006 his application was allowed. Later he discussed his plan to visit India with Major Iqbal and Sajid Mir. As per their plan, Headley applied for a business visa via his schoolmate Dr Tahwur Husssain Rana who was a practicing doctor in Pakistan Army. On Headley’s instance, Dr Rana asked his friend Raymond Sanders to write a letter to the Consulate of India in Chicago to get a visa for Headley. Mr Sanders was an attorney at the Immigrant Law Centre in Chicago.

Except for his mother’s and his own nationality, his date of birth, place of birth and passport number Headley provided to get the Indian visa were false. He received a visa for a year initially and later for five years with multiple entries so that he would not have to get a visa time and again.

He then cooked up a story that he was an immigration consultant in Mumbai on behalf of the Immigration Law Centre. This is how he visited Mumbai seven times and reconnoitered vital parts that were targeted during the attacks.