The Congress party and its allies in Parliament have sharply criticized the Indian government’s successful anti-terror operations be it the swift retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack through Operation Sindoor, or the crackdown on militants in Jammu & Kashmir under the Operation Mahadev. Despite these significant achievements, Congress has refused to acknowledge or appreciate the success.

Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram recently cast doubt on the government’s assertion that the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 people (mostly civilians), were from Pakistan and that the assault was orchestrated by the Pakistani deep state.

This criticism came shortly after a combative speech by Rahul Gandhi, in which he pointed to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of having brokered the India-Pakistan ceasefire. Rahul accused the Indian government of surrendering control of its foreign policy to the United States.

Yet, many are pointing to the contrast in Congress’ own record during similar situations especially when P. Chidambaram himself served as Home Minister during the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. A viral video from 2010 shows Chidambaram in an interview with a private TV channel, responding to questions about David Headley, one of the key conspirators behind 26/11.

When asked whether Indian agencies had any knowledge of Headley before the U.S. shared intelligence. Interviewer asked, “let me then take you to Hedley did you have any idea this man even existed before the Americans told us?” Chidambaram candidly said, “No.” The interviewer pressed further, asking, “isn’t that a failure on our part?” Chidambaram insisted it didn’t by saying, “No”.

The journalist pointed out that, “the man comes here he lives here he does reconnaissance he goes back files reports” Chidambaram responded, “All that was before 26/11. He came to India only once after 26/11,” and when asked, “and we still didn’t know who he was?” he replied “He was a white, Caucasian-looking person” puzzled interviewer asked, “which means he must be okay?” he replied with a chuckle, “American name, American passport.”

The contrast is stark, when the Congress was in power and failed to detect a major terror operative, their leaders dismissed it lightly even with laughter. But now, when the BJP government successfully retaliates and gains global support for its counter-terror actions, the same Congress leaders question its legitimacy.

Who is David Coleman Headley?

David Coleman Headley, originally named Daood Sayed Gilani, was born in Washington, D.C. to a Pakistani diplomat and broadcaster, Sayed Salim Gilani, and his American mother, Alice Serrill Headley. He spent part of his childhood in Pakistan, attending a boarding school, before relocating to the United States, where he worked in his family’s bar in Philadelphia.

Over time, Headley developed ties with the Pakistan-based terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). In 1998, he was convicted of drug trafficking, specifically for smuggling heroin from Pakistan into the U.S., and served a two-year prison sentence. After his release, he became an informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), conducting undercover operations in Pakistan.

Between 2002 and 2005, Headley reportedly attended five terrorist training camps run by Lashkar-e-Taiba. Acting under LeT’s direction, he traveled to India multiple times to carry out surveillance missions ahead of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, as confirmed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

In 2009, U.S. authorities arrested him before he could execute a planned attack in Denmark. He later pleaded guilty to terrorism charges and cooperated extensively with investigators, providing valuable information on LeT’s structure and Pakistan’s involvement.

Headley is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence in the United States. Despite repeated requests from India for his extradition, the U.S. has declined, citing the terms of his plea agreement and cooperation with American intelligence agencies.

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Zakir-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the leader of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist group who was also the mastermind of the Mumbai terror attacks, has been arrested in Pakistan today (January 2).

Lakhvi, who was released on bail since 2015 was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab province.

A statement issued by the department said that Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi was arrested on charges of financing terrorism for which a case has been registered in a police station of CTD Lahore.

“Lakhvi is accused of running a dispensary, using funds collected for terrorism financing. He and others also collected funds from this dispensary and used these funds for further terrorism financing. He also used these funds for personal expenses,” the CTD said. However, it did not reveal the place of his arrest.

Lakhvi is also a UN designated individual.

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Pakistan-origin Canadian Tahawwur Rana who is one of the main conspirators of 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai could be extradited to India by a court in the United States (US).

The court has fixed 12 February 2021 as the date for the hearing on extradition of Rana for his involvement in the 2008 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack. In that attack, 166 people were killed which also included six US nationals, reports Times of India.

India declared Rana as a fugitive and sent an extradition request. He was arrested in October 2009 after another accused in the case, David Coleman Headley was arrested at Chicago’s O’Hare airport.

Rana is a childhood friend of Headley who is also known as “Dawood Gilani”. As per the details released by the federal prosecutors, the duo between 2006 and 2008 conspired with other non-state actors in Pakistan to assist Pakistan military harboured Islamic terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and Harakat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami to plan and execute the terror attack in Mumbai.

The United States later designated both the Islamic organizations as a terrorist group.

Rana who has been in a US prison for twelve years has never pleaded guilty, nor has he cooperated with the authorities. However, Headley immediately accepted his role and pleaded guilty to all the charges against him.

He later turned into a state approver in the case and is serving a 35-years prison term in a maximum-security prison in the US for his role in the attack. 

Court records and interviews show that Headley served as an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) starting in the late 1990s. 

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