New Delhi: The US has ruled out extradition of terror suspect David Headley to India, but assured New Delhi will have "full access" to all the information from him.
"But I think you will have full access to all the information and whether or not an Indian team itself can go there, I cannot answer that question because I was not in the US during that period but I encourage you to be in touch with our justice department," he said here.
`LeT a concern`
Blake, who is on a visit to Afghanistan and India, said Headley pleading guilty before a Chicago court to terror charges including 26/11 Mumbai attacks had showed how the threat of Lashkar-e-Toiba had "grown significantly" and asked Pakistan to work more on that front.
He said Pakistan has made "important progress on the issue of terror but there is still work to be done."
"We still think that there needs to be progress on LeT in particular. The Headley case in our view illustrates the increasing global scope and ambition of LeT and therefore, the need for all of our countries to take the LeT threat seriously and cooperate with each other."
India`s stand
The Indian government has already said that Headley’s plea bargain to escape the death sentence for planning the 26/11 attacks was not a setback for the country.
"Headley has agreed to fully and truthfully testify in any foreign judicial proceedings held in the US. We will continue to press for access to Headley in that he will testify in a court or subject himself to interrogation," Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said.
He was speaking yesterday after a Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
According to Chidambaram, India has "already been given significant amount of information (on Headley`s role in the Mumbai attacks)".
Government sources also said that a "lighter" sentence of less than 20 years for Headley will be a matter of concern and the government will initiate the process for getting him interrogated "across the table".
Officials here fear there could be a hidden deal between Pakistani-American Headley and the US government under which he could get a lighter sentence of much less than 20 years, after which he may even get a new identity and be free under the witness protection scheme in the US.
After his appearance in a Chicago court on Thursday under the plea bargain agreement, the US Attorney General had said that Headley has agreed to "fully and truthfully testify in any foreign judicial proceedings held in the US by way of deposition, video conferencing or Letters Rogatory".
The NIA has registered a case against Headley and Rana for allegedly conspiring to wage a war against the country and under various sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Sources said that the Indian government has evidence of offences committed by Headley in India besides the 12 counts for which he has pleaded guilty.
If need be, the security agencies can register a fresh case and seek his extradition in case the punishment was much below the expected lines, a senior official said.
Chidambaram pointed out that Headley had not been charged in India "and for good reason. We will charge him at the appropriate time".
Headley Thursday pleaded guilty to a dozen federal terrorism charges in a Chicago court and admitted his role in planning the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
Headley also admitted that he attended training camps in Pakistan operated by LeT on five separate occasions between 2002 and 2005.
PTI
