National Defence College is a target in near future: Headley

David Headley

Mumbai attacks co-accused David Headley on Wednesday testified that New Delhi-based National Defence College is on the hit-list of terrorists as 26/11 mastermind Illiyas Kashmiri believes in this way he can kill more Indian brigadiers than what the Pakistan Army could not do in four wars with India.

Within a few months of the Mumbai terror attacks, Kashmiri, who has now emerged as mastermind of 26/11, met Headley, and asked him to go to India again to do surveillance of the National Defence College in New Delhi and a number of Chhabad Houses in various cities of India.

When Headley, accompanied by Pasha, went to see Kashmiri in Waziristan in February 2009, he among the Lashkar-e-Taiba circles had emerged as a "surveillance expert" thus a key element of the planning of the terrorist attack.

"Kashmiri asked me to return to India. He said that his leadership was very upset about the recent Israeli strike on the Gaza strip and (thus) wanted retaliation," Headley said in response to a question, adding that Kashmiri wanted him to identify the Chhabad houses in India.

On the way back he was given a list of Chhabad houses in India by Pasha.

Headley said since he was coming to India again, he was asked by Kashmiri to also visit National Defence College, which he described as a prestigious Indian institution that teaches high level army offices, Colonels and above.

Pasha told him that if "we were able to conduct" attack on NDC then "we will be able to kill more Brigadiers than Pakistan has done in the four wars" with India.

Targets inside India have been identified: ISI

Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha has warned India that any Abbottabad-like attack by it would invite a fitting response from Pakistan as targets inside the country “had already been identified” and “rehearsal” carried out.

Lt. Gen. Pasha's warning came as he addressed the in-camera joint session of the Senate and National Assembly held behind closed doors on Friday. Lt. Gen. Pasha is facing fire over the inability of the ISI to track down al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, where he was living, before he was annihilated by the U.S. special forces on May 2.

In an apparent response to statements from New Delhi that India too can carry out strikes inside Pakistan, Lt. Gen. Pasha said any attack from the east would invite a fitting response, the Dawn reported. He said a contingency plan was in place and targets inside “India had already been identified.” Lt. Gen. Pasha told the lawmakers: “We have also carried out rehearsal for it.”

Earlier on May 5, Pakistan army and the government had reacted sharply warning India against any Abbottabad-like “misadventure,” saying it would be responded to “very strongly.” The warning had come after a meeting of the Corps Commanders chaired by Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani which decided to reduce the level of U.S. military personnel in Pakistan.