India would like to have access to David Headley who, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation claims, was involved in the Mumbai terror attacks. “The matter is under investigation and I would not like to say much. This should be addressed to the Union Home Ministry,” said Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao.
At the same time, she expressed India’s eagerness to question Headley, whose interrogation, according to the FBI, has revealed incriminating evidence of his involvement in 26/11.
An FBI team that was in India told Indian authorities that Headley provided “possible leads” about the involvement of persons and conspirators from Pakistan.
Ms. Rao was talking to journalists after the completion of Prime Minister Manmohan’s “successful, productive and satisfactory” Russia visit that showed both countries were on the same page on Afghanistan and opposed talks with the “good” Taliban as was being suggested by U.S. think tanks with access to the White House.
“Facile distinction”
Terming the distinction between the good and bad Taliban “facile and false,” Ms. Rao said both New Delhi and Moscow felt that such a difference just did not exist.
Russia and India also felt the need for effective tackling of the situation in Pakistan because terrorism of the kind being witnessed in the region was interconnected.
On Monday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev spoke about the inter-relationship between militancy in Afghanistan and the situation in Pakistan, and admitted that the situation on the borders of both India and Russia was volatile.
