Islamabad: 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.
Responding to another question about the funding of Taliban and other militant groups, Malik claimed, "Foreign meddling in Pakistan is not a conspiracy theory, it's very real."
Asked if he had raised this concern with Congress President Sonia Gandhi or Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he met them at the cricket World Cup semi-final in Mohali, he said: "I discussed some of these things with Rahul Gandhi.
"I'm in contact with my Indian counterpart and we are making progress. There's a good chance that India and Pakistan can become friendly by focusing on what is doable. There is no substitute for talking."
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