The Curious Case of Daood Gilani alias David Headley & co

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 27 Dec 2009 04:49

Shankk & Acharya, your posts have no relevance to Headley. You may take this discussion to the appropriate thread.

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 27 Dec 2009 12:00

Headley’s girlfriend crossed Wagah into India

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 27 Dec 2009 12:11

vera_k wrote:Headley’s girlfriend crossed Wagah into India

From Google translate for the query "Faiza Outalha"

I am a Moroccan origin who is currently in Pakistan. I want a job in Quebec or as family assistance, aid attendant, nanny ... I speak several languages. For a copy of my resume, contact me . I have a passport.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 27 Dec 2009 18:19

pgbhat,
where did you find that ad? That is superb work, akin to an intel chap! Are you a really Raa agint?

Looks like the mohterma wants to melt away.

The $25,000 money trail is interesting. If massa / RAW gets to the bottom of this, the trail might lead to some Saudi financier or to Dawood Ibrahim. This is the one that is going to end several gangster / financier careers, if massa pursues this.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 27 Dec 2009 18:23

Hedaley not to be extradited to India: FBI

The FBI has politely turned down India's request for extradition . . . Indian officials were told there was no realistic possibility of the Pakistani-American being handed over since the sentence could range between 200 and 300 years of imprisonment.

There was no realistic possibility of extradition after it became clear that he was closely associated with some US intel agenc(y)(ies). India certainly needs access to Headley (just as they provided access to Kasab to FBI). In the case of Kasab, we provided access because it was beneficial to us; nothing like that may exist for the US in the case of Headly and it may even be dangerous to do so for American interests and hence the 'no access' ruse.

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 27 Dec 2009 22:58

Gagan wrote:pgbhat,
where did you find that ad? That is superb work, akin to an intel chap! Are you a really Raa agint? Looks like the mohterma wants to melt away.

Since she is reported to be 29 years old.... I was looking for her facebook page.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 27 Dec 2009 23:12

Raa agint: Can we interrogate Headley, Rana and Steven?
CIA agint: No can't do.
Raa agint: O please!
CIA agint: No pardner
Raa agint: pweety pweeze.
CIA agint: nix nein.
Raa agint:

*#%@*##

---------------------------------
Raa agint to Yindu newspaper editor: (Khusar-phusar khusar-phusar)
Yindoo newpaper: "YYY conspiracy onlee"
---------------------------------

US counsel afsar nai dilli: Oh gawd! get me washington!
US Counsel + Foggy bottom afsar + CIA agint: Whisper-whisper
(Notice halaal angrezi as opposed to hinglish for the desis)

CIA agint: Okey dokey, we'll share some info, we'll send some one to delhi with a file.
Raa agint:

---------------------------------

And the saga continues thus - every step of the way.

ArmenT · Post by **ArmenT** » 28 Dec 2009 00:16

pgbhat wrote: From Google translate for the query "Faiza Outalha"
I am a Moroccan origin who is currently in Pakistan. I want a job in Quebec or as family assistance, aid attendant, nanny ... I speak several languages. For a copy of my resume, contact me . I have a passport.

She could ask Mush to provide a "canadian visa". Sorry, couldn't resist.

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 28 Dec 2009 01:43

ArmenT wrote:She could ask Mush to provide a "canadian visa". Sorry, couldn't resist.

by definition, a kanadian vija cannot be requested, then its no longer a proper vija

enqyoob · Post by **enqyoob** » 28 Dec 2009 05:50

In Pakistan, of Moroccan origin, advertises for job offer as "family assistance" in Canada. If your intent to begin with, was to go to Canada as "family assistance", is Pakistan your preferred next stop in that journey? For whom?

Do u see a pattern? This is 297% certain to be a co-ed madarssa (LMU?) grad moving on to next phase of her mission.

Wonder if there are many ads like this.

nithish · Post by **nithish** » 29 Dec 2009 04:13

NIA nets Goa-based US man

The NIA is investigating terror suspect David Coleman Headley’s links with a US national residing in Goa on a tourist visa for the last nine years. The American — who has been illegally running a business in Goa — was introduced to Headley by his Moroccan girlfriend after she befriended him and his wife during a short visit to Manali in 2008.
----

The American couple has already been interrogated by the NIA in Goa and their statements recorded. They have admitted to having known the Moroccan girlfriend of Headley. The probe will now establish how frequently had Headley met or got in touch with the Goa-based US national, and for what purpose.

Though found to be illegally carrying out business here on a tourist visa, the immigration authorities have decided against initiating any action against the US national, as they would need him for further investigations. In fact, any cancellation of his tourist visa would result in the American returning to his home country, which could hamper the investigations here. As it is, the NIA probe is going slow due to FBI’s reluctance to give direct access to Headley or Rana or respond without delay to India’s request for voice samples of Headley and for other crucial details of his network.
----
The US national and his wife were befriended by Headley’s girlfriend as she toured Manali, apparently as part of a terror reconnaissance. She is suspected to have surveyed a local Jewish centre there. The agencies believe the Moroccan woman returned to Pakistan after her short visit to India.

What has really baffled the investigators is how the Goa-based US national, known to Headley, had exploited the loopholes in the tourist visa regime to extend his stay in Goa for a whole nine years, during the course of which he also went about conducting multiple businesses. In fact, it is in the backdrop of this discovery that the Union home ministry recently decided to tighten the tourist visa rules, making a two-month break mandatory between a stay of 180 days here.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 29 Dec 2009 04:16

{OT deleted}

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 29 Dec 2009 04:40

Is there an open source photo of Headley, yet? curious

very rarely has one seen such non-interest in publishing a mug photo. Particularly a mug-shot hungry media like the US'.

enqyoob · Post by **enqyoob** » 29 Dec 2009 08:24

Is this Gilani or Rana?

His eyes look neither blue nor green, BTW

The only contemporary one I found was of his face behind the bracelets.

Artist's rendering

But u r right - even Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Lone Organizer of 9/11 and AQ#3.1.1.1.1.1, had more pictures published. Especially if Gilani's full mug shot sends American and desi wimmens' hearts pitter-patter like in Harlequin Romances, I don't see what is the hangup.

MTCR in action?

Umrao Das · Post by **Umrao Das** » 29 Dec 2009 09:04

The Australian preecher in orissa was also on tourist visa for decades, so were many in nagaland.

The dawwod guy is ideal for Indian operations because near desi and yet the same time Gora ( our babus like TFTA look and feel personbality

), due to our reverance to color (west man sounds like Westrex

)... but nver like East man color

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 30 Dec 2009 05:55

That first one seems to be Rana, so is the artist impression. Besides the chap in the pics dont look like the type to attract Mumbai's air head crowd, while posing as a firangi.

This one seems more nearer to the types that the idiot Rahul Ass-er would hang out with
http://beta.thehindu.com/multimedia/dyn ... 20300f.jpg

Wish they would release some photos of him, so ordinary people like hotel employees in India can identify the douche as "oh yeah, I remember him. was asking for ways to get Tiwari-ed" etc.

Currently, Headley is in the company of Mullah Omar, Pottu Amman etc, who are conveniently shy Ayshas. UK is known to be wary of releasing mugs of suspects, considering their reputation as the laundromat of sundry scum in the universe. But US usually loves its "wanted" posters with mugs having a stamp saying "deceased" etc. Wonder why this reticence?

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 30 Dec 2009 09:54

If there are people with photoshop skills I would make one with one gray eye and other green and call it Face of Terror.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 31 Dec 2009 05:56

About 9 years ago i read the KRC report and decided that we needed more analysis of the factors that caused Kargil. To do that I came across a set of tables that identified many factors that led to the failure. I summarized the relevant factors in the BRM article.

These tables are shown at the bottom of page.

KRC report review: BRM

Karan can you load those tables and we can fill the relevant data wrt Daoud Gilani's case?

Karan Dixit · Post by **Karan Dixit** » 31 Dec 2009 08:40

No problem Ramana. I will take care of it tomorrow. Thanks!

Karan Dixit · Post by **Karan Dixit** » 02 Jan 2010 01:44

Ramana,

I added four tables that were prepared by you.

Here is the link:

http://karandixit.wordpress.com/category/kargil-review/

Thanks,
- Karan

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 02 Jan 2010 23:53

Thanks. Make the right most two cols blank and rename the page Daoud Gilani/David Headley Case.

We can then each of us collectively fill in the columns.

Thanks, once again.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 03 Jan 2010 09:39

Chicago immigration agency a front for terror plot, federal probers allege

Sun 03 Jan 2010
By Antonio Olivo
Tribune reporter

Nestled among the restaurants and sari shops that anchor Devon Avenue in Chicago's South Asian community, First World Immigration Services Inc. has operated as a welcoming walk-in center for recently arrived immigrants, like other storefront operations helping with visas, citizenship applications and other matters, its proprietors say.

But, as part of a widening probe into an international terror plot rooted in the city, U.S. authorities are sharpening their sights on the West Rogers Park agency in search of possible acts of Immigration fraud, according to sources familiar with the probe.

Federal prosecutors charge that the Immigration center served as a front in a Chicago-based terror plot to bomb a Danish newspaper that in 2005 outraged Muslims worldwide when it published unflattering caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

First World's owner, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, also knew in advance of plans for the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, India, which killed 172 people, federal prosecutors allege.

Randall Samborn, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago, said last week that federal authorities are working to determine the Immigration status of people who entered the U.S. with the agency's help. The alleged plot is one of several cases raising new concerns about U.S.-based terror plots.

Rana, who also owns a grocery store in Chicago and a halal meat plant in Kinsman, Ill., is in federal custody. He was arrested in October, along with another Chicagoan, David Coleman Headley, an alleged scout in the Denmark and Mumbai plots.

Both men have denied the charges.

Federal prosecutors allege that Rana, 48, helped Headley scout the newspaper's offices in Copenhagen and several other potential targets for terrorism by arranging to secure travel visas for Headley. Headley, 49, then allegedly posed as an agent of First World hoping to place an ad at the newspaper.

According to court filings, Rana also allegedly conspired to bring foreigners to the U.S. under false pretenses.

In e-mail conversations, Rana advised an alleged member of the militant Paskistani organization Lashkar-e-Taiba about "loopholes" to get individuals into the U.S., court filings say. The group is believed to have carried out the Mumbai attacks.

"Whenever you find easy way to come to U.S., immediately think there is a catch to it," Rana allegedly wrote in one e-mail, warning against using student visas. In another message, Rana allegedly suggested that one individual be brought in under a false occupation. "Make him a cook," the e-mail allegedly said. In another correspondence, Rana suggested a typewriter be used in an application that would include a false employer letter from 1983, noting that laser printers did not exist back then, prosecutors alleged.

Denying all the charges, Rana's lawyers have characterized the Canadian citizen as an upstanding businessman. Since the federal probe began, Rana's businesses have been effectively destroyed, his lawyers said.

Last week, the scene inside First World was quiet, with Rana's business partner, attorney Raymond Sanders, nonchalantly munching peanuts while a female co-worker dispensed advice to a client over the phone.

"We do all forms of American Immigration," said Sanders, who referred all other questions to his attorney, who did not return a telephone call.

However, others in Chicago's growing Pakistani community were eager to defend Rana, a man they know as a thoughtful former physician in his homeland who always has been willing to help people here in need. Rana, whose primary residence is in Chicago, first arrived to the city in 1997.

Friends say First World is popular among Pakistani and Indian immigrants.

"(Rana) is a very kind-hearted person," said Raja Muhammad Yaqub.

Yaqub, who knows Rana through their mosque, said Rana has helped fund a North Side health clinic that serves uninsured patients and has assisted non-Muslims as well as Muslims in his Immigration center.

"Mostly, those people who are poor, they come to him," Yaqub said. "If he was any kind of negative person, how can he help those who aren't part of his community?"

Tribune reporter Jeff Coen contributed.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 03 Jan 2010 17:23

Headley's estranged Moroccan wife spills more details

While she claimed that she had since been divorced as Headley was having relations with several women, the investigators also found from her about the terror suspect’s relations with some upcoming Bollywood actors, prominent party-hoppers of Mumbai and socialites.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 03 Jan 2010 21:43

Been meaning to post this for a while. First thing i noticed was that Headley was married to a moroccan. Well folks, moroccan wimmin are up for grabs if your money is right. The women are extremely beautiful and it is a popular destination for moslem sinners from all over the world especially the UK. Many Paki/Indian mussalmans visit phor halaal pleasure purposes. Many individuals have 2nd/3rd/4th wives there secretly without their parents being aware. One wonders why the KSA princes have palaces for "resting" purposes there.

Moroccan wimmin will marry you for your passport and a vijja into phoren country - British embassy has issued warnings in relation to this too.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 03 Jan 2010 21:49

It seems that the NIA has got that woman and she is talking. It would be interesting to know how they got her.

Tamang · Post by **Tamang** » 03 Jan 2010 21:55

MEA not to hold an inquiry into Headley visa issue

A careful perusal of Headley's visa application form by the ministry has confirmed that Headley had used the name of his foster father, William Headley, in the form and since his US passport didn't carry his parents' names, it helped him hoodwink Indian officials.

Highly placed government sources told TOI that there was absolutely nothing in the visa form to suggest either his links with Pakistan or even his Muslim background. There was no way also to establish that he previously had another passport in his original name of Daood Gilani. "He also was not in the list of any blacklist available with the consulate. It was just one among hundreds of applications received and there was no reason to summon him for a separate interview,'' said a source. The place of birth in the application form was also mentioned as Washington.

So no one is held responsible for the blunder and what about Counsel General's role, aal izz well!

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 03 Jan 2010 23:22

SSridhar wrote:Headley's estranged Moroccan wife spills more details
While she claimed that she had since been divorced as Headley was having relations with several women, the investigators also found from her about the terror suspect’s relations with some upcoming Bollywood actors, prominent party-hoppers of Mumbai and socialites.

From same article

On the basis of her statement, the NIA team has also quizzed an American national in Goa who knew Headley. The US national, who is not (not) a suspect in the case, has been hopping in and out of India and had stayed in Manali and Goa with his Russian girlfriend.

The American, who works as a masseur, has not violated any of the visa rules of the country and he had informed the investigators about Headley's activities in Goa

munna · Post by **munna** » 04 Jan 2010 03:51

Kolkata Car With Pak Number Plate

The Toyota Land Cruiser having number plate that read L 992 WYZ and a sticker of Islamabad attached to it, was parked illegally in front of the Bible Society of India in the New Market area on Saturday night.

A trail that followed led to identification of the owner as Alexander Henry Porcell of London, a student of Anthropology in Oxford University, who was traced by the police to a hotel on Sudder street in the vicinity.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 04 Jan 2010 08:37

Tamang wrote:MEA not to hold an inquiry into Headley visa issue
So no one is held responsible for the blunder and what about Counsel General's role, aal izz well!

We are all so focussed on the Headley villain that we are forgetting Tahawwur Rana. The latter was also granted a one-year multiple entry business visa and his wife was given a 5-year multiple-entry tourist visa, again without referring to the Min. of Home Affairs back in Delhi. These two people had not hidden their Pakistani connection at all, unlike Headley. The MEA must conduct an enquiry.

Raja Ram · Post by **Raja Ram** » 04 Jan 2010 10:46

Usually, the application form for Indian visas used to have some questions such as:

1. Has the applicant used any other travel document/passport to visit India in the past? if so, please provide details of the same.

2. Has the applicant visited (a list of countries that would include pakistan) in the last 6 months? If so, please provide details.

3. Has the applicant visited India before? If so, please mention the time period

4. Has the applicant's visa application been rejected before? Provide details

If none of the above questions were there, then it is indeed strange. It used to be there for all applications at least in the past. I have seen it when I was in service.

Lack of enquiry is indeed interesting and unexplicable. There should have been one.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 04 Jan 2010 10:49

Somewhere in this thread I said its now a prestige issue between MHA and MEA. And hence there wont be any action.

--

It was on Dec 19th!

http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... 94#p792094

niran · Post by **niran** » 04 Jan 2010 11:46

Raja Ram wrote:Usually, the application form for Indian visas used to have some questions such as:

If none of the above questions were there, then it is indeed strange. It used to be there for all applications at least in the past. I have seen it when I was in service.

let me say from an applicant side, You need a Multiple entry more than 1 year Visa? contact an agent.
mind you since last 9 years all Indian Embassies except in London and Singapore will accept forms onlee
from 1 firm, else your application will be rejected for lack of documentary proof or any reason the clerk babu can think
once i had my application rejected because i had written the date 23/11/98 in place of 23/11/1998.
Now this agent places his heap of passport on the counter
Babu- kitney hain?
Agent-*** hain
Babu- sabhi tourist ?
Agent- nahi 4 multi hain
Babu- documents poore hain?
Agent- arre saab, kya baat karte hain, ab tak kabhi galti hoyi hai
Babu- naye sahab aye hain.
Agent- unsey mill liy hain.
Babu- pahelay batana tha.
a recipt is printed
another babu collects the heaps and jot down the details in a ledger the size of an adult Trunk,
paste the vissa stamp on the book and passport, heaves it to the Sahab office,

Sahab is busy on the phone...... arey saab wo us din walee Kaddie ka kya naam hain?
....... arey yar, woh sab kuch nahi... sees the Babu and barks Kya Hain?
Babu- Sir, signature chahiye.
Saab- ye sab kya hain?
Babu- Vissa applications Sir,
Saab- itna sara kiyoin late ho ek saath... and sign all the applications.
in span of 1 hour *** passports are stamped with proper visa including the 4 multiple visa.
and nobody is wiser.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 04 Jan 2010 12:18

OK, I stand corrected as far as CG, Chicago's issuance of visa for Rana and his wife is concerned. I was under the impression that under the circular issued to all consular sections in c. 2004, anybody who had a Pakistani nationality or place of birth needed to be referred back to MHA for clearance. I did not realize that this rule did not apply to Canadians. Inscrutable are the ways of MEA and MHA. Why should any Pakistani derivative be assumed to be cleansed of his Pakiness just because he acquired a Canadian citizenship, is beyond comprehension of a poor mortal like me.

ArmenT · Post by **ArmenT** » 04 Jan 2010 12:48

^^^^
Perhaps because Canada has a lot of citizens of Punjabi origin? A lot of Punjabis have their origins in towns that are now parts of Pakistan e.g. Lahore, Gujranwala, Multan etc. There's a good chance that includes a lot of people who have relatives that migrated to India later on.

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 04 Jan 2010 17:48

Headley's Moroccan Ex-Wife Gives More 26/11 Leads : http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?672076

Security agencies have been able to get an insight into the personal life of American terror suspect David Headley, with his estranged Moroccan wife telling investigators about connections he had in Mumbai, including with some socialites.

Faiza Outalha, who, the security agencies suspect had carried out reconnaissance of certain installations that were targeted by the Lashker-e-Taiba terrorists in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, told National Investigation Agency (NIA) that she was married to 48-year-old Headley but had a divorce later, official sources said.

Where is this Faizia these days? Looks like the NIA was able to question her.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 05 Jan 2010 01:04

Shades of David Headley! Some one is caught and is 'turned' to infiltrate the jihadis and bites some one else.

vijayk wrote:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34687312/ns ... tral_asia/
Jordanian double-agent killed CIA officers
Officials: Perpetrator of Afghan attack was supposed to infiltrate al-Qaida

The suicide bombing on a CIA base in Afghanistan last week was carried out by a Jordanian doctor who was an al-Qaida double agent, Western intelligence officials told NBC News.

Initial reports said that the attack, which killed seven CIA officers, was carried out by a member of the Afghan National Army.

According to Western intelligence officials, the perpetrator was Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, 36, an al-Qaida sympathizer from the town of Zarqa, which is also the hometown of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian militant Islamist responsible for several devastating attacks in Iraq.

Al-Balawi was arrested by Jordanian intelligence more than a year ago. However, the Jordanians believed that al-Balawi had been successfully reformed and brought over to the American and Jordanian side, setting him up as an agent and sending him off to Afghanistan and Pakistan to infiltrate al-Qaida.
So what happened to the reformed man? He smelled Pakistani air and caught terrorism virus....

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 06 Jan 2010 01:07

Op-Ed from Pioneer

LINK:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/227128/The- ... oject.html

OPED | Tuesday, January 5, 2010 | Email | Print |

The Karachi Project

Shashi Shekhar

The unfolding Headley-Rana saga continues to expose how the Pakistani establishment, the military-jihadi nexus and Islamists of various shades have been working in tandem to plan and execute terrorist attacks in foreign lands, especially India. The US can’t claim to have been ignorant of the sinister alliance at work to promote cross-border jihad and export death and destruction

In recent months, much of what we have known about the circumstances and events leading up to the 2008 fidayeen attacks on Mumbai has changed. The alleged death of Ilyas Kashmiri, an Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist, in a drone strike in Pakistan started unravelling myriad threads which now include US and Canadian citizens and multiple Government and terrorist agencies.

Overlaying developments in the sub-continent with the latest revelations in the Chicago conspiracy case helps us piece together a narrative highlighting four distinct yet interlinked dynamics within the Pakistani military-jihadi complex that led to the 26/11 attacks and subsequent planning for future attacks.

First, the Pakistani military establishment continued to patronise Lashkar-e-Tayyeba — as a counterweight to anti-establishment jihadi groups — even after officially banning it in December 2001. Second, the ISI’s Karachi front office came to be the focal point of this strategy even as it collaborated with American agencies to expose pro-Al Qaeda elements with the outfit. Third, a game of deceit within the Pakistani establishment saw ostensibly pro-establishment ISI-Lashkar elements collaborate with pro-Al Qaeda elements on terrorism directed outwards, against India and other countries. Fourth, anti-establishment elements within the Pakistani military-jihadi complex used the compact on anti-India terrorism to orchestrate events in Pakistan as leverage against the US’s AfPak strategy.

Much has been said about David Coleman Headley’s troubled personal history and conviction in the 1990s on charges of drug-trafficking. It is now a settled fact that Headley was working as an agent for the US Drug Enforcement Administration to expose Pakistani drug cartels. But at some point in the early years of the last decade, Headley, (then known by his original name Daood Sayed Gilani), might have started working for US intelligence on penetrating Pakistan-based terrorist outfits. At this time though, there is no official confirmation on this.

The events in Pakistan in the years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist strikes help explain ISI’s patronage of Lashkar while simultaneously working with the US to expose pro-Al Qaeda elements within it.

In late-2003, Asia Times carried extensive reports of American pressure to shut down “Forward Section 23” in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir leading to the closure of all training camps and ISI operations offices in that region. These reports mentioned a clandestine special investigation cell jointly headed by a member of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency and a member of a US federal agency. The report also revealed that many jihadi groups were actually paramilitary organisations where the unit commander reported to an Army officer. Pakistani military officers were invested in the jihad in Jammu & Kashmir including with the management of funds for training and recruitment.

After the closure of Forward Section 23, the ISI section in Karachi became the hub for the anti-India jihad. In December 2008, the Times News Network quoting unnamed Indian intelligence sources described the “Karachi Project” as involving jihadi fugitives from India, sheltered in Pakistan, luring vulnerable Indian Muslim youth to conduct terrorist attacks against India.

Charge-sheets reveal that Headley first started training with the LeT in 2002. French investigations — into the 2002 killing of submarine engineers and in the Willie Brigitte case — indicate that Brigitte trained with the LeT in the same time frame. The French case mentions two Americans training with Brigitte at a LeT camp at a time when the camp was audited by US federal agents. The LeT commander in the Brigitte case was described as Sajid Mir, a Pakistani military officer. The same Sajid Mir is widely presumed to be the unnamed LeT operative in the Headley case.

The ISI leveraged real-estate contracts in Karachi to fund clandestine activities that often saw the wires crossed between Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Of specific interest are the public accounts of a Dawood Qasmi, who was affiliated to the LeT. Qasmi, in an interview in 2003, describes his interrogations by US authorities on his alleged links to Al Qaeda. His daughter has related how an ISI colonel approached him to rejoin the LeT after his ‘re-appearance’ and his subsequent charity work for the Jamaat-ud-Dawa’h. An FBI initiative to trace terror funding through Islamic charities saw Qasmi being detained for a second time for his links with Arif Qasmani, an alleged double agent and financier of Al Qaeda, the ISI and the LeT. Qasmi had been detained between late 2005 and February 2007. His assets were frozen by the US in 2009 after he was accused of having financed the bomb attack on Mumbai local trains in 2006 and the Samjhauta Express in 2007.

Qasmi’s story reveals one side of the coin that saw the ISI playing a deceptive game of ‘good Lashkar’ and ‘bad Lashkar’ under the watch of US authorities. Qasmi’s story reveals the other side where LeT-affiliated individuals deceived Al Qaeda and the Taliban under the watch of elements within the ISI.

Another double agent, Ghulam Mustafa, had two roles, one as chief coordinator of finances and logistics for militant activities in Jammu & Kashmir, and the other as organiser of Al Qaeda’s transfer of money and human resources between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mustafa, who has been described as “Al Qaeda’s Man who Knew Too Much”, was detained in 2006 by Pakistan.

Headley’s two Pakistan-based controllers came from each of the two sides. Retired Major Abdur Rehman (Hashim) represented the ex-ISI/Al Qaeda side of the equation in his role as the bridge to Ilyas Kashmiri. A Army Major, possibly LeT’s Sajid Mir, represented the ISI-LeT side.

US agencies knew of Mir: The Headley charge-sheet describes him as a senior LeT figure who was well-known to the Government. There have been several reports of joint US-Pakistan operations that have engaged pro-establishment elements within LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed as a counter-balance to the Al Qaeda friendly anti-establishment radicals. One such joint facility was the target of a suicide attack in Lahore in March 2008.

The Chicago charge-sheets and investigation reports reveal several aspects of this dynamic with the ex-ISI/Al Qaeda on the one hand and serving ISI-LeT on the other. Individuals from the two sides had no compunctions on collaborating with each other on acts of terror outside Pakistan. They did, however, have differences in the priorities on the targets of such attacks — India versus other international targets. The factional faultlines between them were about acts of terror within Pakistan.

Mumbai 26/11 represented a unique convergence of interests between these factions. It served the objectives of the Karachi Project in furthering jihad in India. It also offered the anti-establishment factions the prospect of instability in Pakistan in the wake of an Indian reaction.

Indian agencies have failed to penetrate the multiple assumed identities used by ISI officers running the LeT. Many analysts assume that Mir is the ‘Zarar Shah’ who was earlier named in connection with the 26/11 attacks. He has not been on the Indian radar to date for any acts of terror committed against India. Qasmi was not even charged by India in the Mumbai train bombings case. Also, the veil needs to be lifted on the true identities of those who have been known to India only as Abu al-Qama, Muzammil and Azam Cheema.

Maj Hashim was arrested by Pakistani authorities in August 2009 in connection with the assassination of Maj-Gen Faisal Alvi, but was let off. The Headley charge-sheet quotes Sajid Mir expressing concerns about Maj Hashim cutting a deal with the Pakistani establishment by exposing pro-Al Qaeda elements. The drone strike that allegedly killed Ilyas Kashmiri came after Maj Hashim was released.

It is widely assumed that Maj Hashim also controlled the Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jihad-Islami modules that have been responsible for terrorism in India. This thread needs to be further investigated to assess if and how it links to the ‘Indian Mujahideen’ modules led by Abdul Subhan Tauqeer and Riyaz Bhatkal.

The most significant revelation from the Headley-Rana saga is the existence of ‘jihadi free agents’ like Headley who occupied the space in between the two sides, comfortably offering services to either. These constitute the latest dimension in the proxy war against India. The US must be more forthcoming in sharing intelligence with Indian authorities in order to unearth the entire story. As long as Pakistan engages in the use of jihadi militants as strategic assets, the complex dynamics will result in terrorist threats to India and other countries. The US would do well to recognise this and act accordingly.

-- The writer tracks terrorism in South Asia.

He seems to know more than he is writing at this time.

The mention of joint ops worries me.

Karan Dixit · Post by **Karan Dixit** » 06 Jan 2010 06:40

ramana wrote:Thanks. Make the right most two cols blank and rename the page Daoud Gilani/David Headley Case.

We can then each of us collectively fill in the columns.

Thanks, once again.

Done!

Please let me know if you need the original word doc from me via email. Thanks!

http://karandixit.wordpress.com/categor ... -pakistan/

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 07 Jan 2010 07:47

A tweet I follow says this:

New tidbit Tahawwur Rana is a Pakistan Army deserter http://is.gd/5PdYX

Curioser only.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 07 Jan 2010 10:12

No bail for Tahawwur Rana

Meanwhile, some media reports said Rana may use 'deserter defense' in court in his renewed effort to be freed on bail. Rana may contend that he deserted the Pakistani military and is persona non-grata in his homeland.

Since he cannot return to his native Pakistan, where he could be arrested, the judge should allow him out on bond in his terrorism case as he 'promises not to flee'.