August 20, 2026 03:19 pm (IST)
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Cong, BJP exchange barbs over Headley's claim on Ishrat Jahan
New Delhi, Feb 11 (IBNS): Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) indulged in a fresh spar on Thursday after key accused of 26/11 Mumbai attack David Coleman Headley claimed that Ishrat Jahan, killed in an encounter in 2004, was a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist.
Following his claim, the BJP demanded an apology from the Congress for targeting its government in Gujarat for many years over Ishrat’s killing in an encounter with security forces.
On the other hand, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit alleged that Lashkar accomplice Headley had named Jahan as a terrorist as part of “a deal”.
Headley, who is serving jail term in the US, spoke from an undisclosed location and said that he had received funds from both Laskhar-e-Toiba and Pakistan spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to arrange for Indian Army personnel to spy for Pakistan.
So far, the interrogation has yielded a lot of information regarding the plan and motives of attack in India.
According to his testimony, the LeT's 26/11 Mumbai attack was the third such take after two previously foiled attack.
Headley also mentioned ISI's involvement in the whole saga.
He also confirmed Hafeez Saeed as the LeT mastermind and the man who trained him along with Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhavi.
Speaking about his tryst with the fringe outfit, he had said that he joined the unit in 2002 after getting inspired by Saeed's speech, who urged them to carry a jihad against India.
The conversation also yielded his handler Sajid Mir's name, on whose behest Headley changed his name.
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