Govt starts internal consultations on joining New York lawsuit against ISI, LeT
Jun 3, 2011, 04.53am IST TNN[ Vishwa Mohan ]
NEW DELHI: The government has started internal consultations to take a call on whether to implead itself in the lawsuit against Pakistani spy agency ISI and terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba in a New York court. This comes a few days after Union home secretary G K Pillai hinted to this effect. A final decision is likely to be taken this month itself.
"Investigating agencies and law officers have had meetings in the past two days over various aspects of the case, specifically whether India would be benefited by impleading itself in the lawsuit or not," said a senior officer who is privy to the consultations.
He said, "Hopefully, a decision on joining the New York lawsuit will be taken within this month." He said that India would wait for the judgment of the Chicago court in the ongoing case against 26/11 accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana before taking the decision.
The NIA, which is investigating the case against Rana and American Lashkar terrorist David Coleman Headley in India, will also possibly file its chargesheet against the duo after getting all relevant material from the US authorities this month.
Though preliminary discussions on the issue of India becoming a party to the New York lawsuit were held in April, the ongoing Rana trail brought the issue to the fore. Last week, Pillai in an interview to The Times of India spoke about the possibility and said that the decision would have to be a "political call".
Pillai had said: "I think if Rana gets convicted then you are establishing credibility of Headley's claim of an ISI linkage. Then those records will go to the New York court case...that is where the pressure will come...and now if you want to get involved, that is really a political call... (because) on the one hand you said that you want to be friends with Pakistan...and then you want a case against Pakistan."
Taking note of the home secretary's interview (to the TOI), home minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday too said that there were "advantages and disadvantages" (of taking the decision).
Sources said the law officers were examining the details of the lawsuit in the light of such apprehensions and trying to study precedents, if any, in other countries and the possibility of unnecessarily being dragged by courts in some other cases in future. Consultations are also taking place in view of India's current position of engaging Pakistan through talks at various levels, sources added.
The lawsuit in the New York court, filed in November last year by relatives of Rabbi Gavriel Noah Holtzberg and his wife Rivka who were killed by Lashkar gunmen at Chabad House in Mumbai in November 2008, has accused the ISI of aiding and abetting the LeT in killing 166 people including six American citizens.
It said: "The ISI has long nurtured and used international terrorist groups, including the LeT, to accomplish its goals and has provided material support to the LeT and other international terrorist groups." The lawsuit referred to the disclosure made by American-Pakistani Lashkar terrorist Headley and blamed top ISI officials – including its chief Major General Ahmed Shuja Pasha -- for providing "critical planning, material support, control and coordination of the attacks (26/11)".
The New York court had subsequently issued summons to senior ISI officials including Pasha and LeT leaders Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi. Though the lawsuit is now stuck in procedures after the Pakistan government decided to defend its spy agency and got ‘waiver' for the visit of Pasha to US, India appears to be keen on following the matter in whatever way it can to expose the ISI for its misdeeds.................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JSC8yMDExLzA2LzAzI0FyMDA3MDE=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
Jun 3, 2011, 04.53am IST TNN[ Vishwa Mohan ]
NEW DELHI: The government has started internal consultations to take a call on whether to implead itself in the lawsuit against Pakistani spy agency ISI and terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba in a New York court. This comes a few days after Union home secretary G K Pillai hinted to this effect. A final decision is likely to be taken this month itself.
"Investigating agencies and law officers have had meetings in the past two days over various aspects of the case, specifically whether India would be benefited by impleading itself in the lawsuit or not," said a senior officer who is privy to the consultations.
He said, "Hopefully, a decision on joining the New York lawsuit will be taken within this month." He said that India would wait for the judgment of the Chicago court in the ongoing case against 26/11 accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana before taking the decision.
The NIA, which is investigating the case against Rana and American Lashkar terrorist David Coleman Headley in India, will also possibly file its chargesheet against the duo after getting all relevant material from the US authorities this month.
Though preliminary discussions on the issue of India becoming a party to the New York lawsuit were held in April, the ongoing Rana trail brought the issue to the fore. Last week, Pillai in an interview to The Times of India spoke about the possibility and said that the decision would have to be a "political call".
Pillai had said: "I think if Rana gets convicted then you are establishing credibility of Headley's claim of an ISI linkage. Then those records will go to the New York court case...that is where the pressure will come...and now if you want to get involved, that is really a political call... (because) on the one hand you said that you want to be friends with Pakistan...and then you want a case against Pakistan."
Taking note of the home secretary's interview (to the TOI), home minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday too said that there were "advantages and disadvantages" (of taking the decision).
Sources said the law officers were examining the details of the lawsuit in the light of such apprehensions and trying to study precedents, if any, in other countries and the possibility of unnecessarily being dragged by courts in some other cases in future. Consultations are also taking place in view of India's current position of engaging Pakistan through talks at various levels, sources added.
The lawsuit in the New York court, filed in November last year by relatives of Rabbi Gavriel Noah Holtzberg and his wife Rivka who were killed by Lashkar gunmen at Chabad House in Mumbai in November 2008, has accused the ISI of aiding and abetting the LeT in killing 166 people including six American citizens.
It said: "The ISI has long nurtured and used international terrorist groups, including the LeT, to accomplish its goals and has provided material support to the LeT and other international terrorist groups." The lawsuit referred to the disclosure made by American-Pakistani Lashkar terrorist Headley and blamed top ISI officials – including its chief Major General Ahmed Shuja Pasha -- for providing "critical planning, material support, control and coordination of the attacks (26/11)".
The New York court had subsequently issued summons to senior ISI officials including Pasha and LeT leaders Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi. Though the lawsuit is now stuck in procedures after the Pakistan government decided to defend its spy agency and got ‘waiver' for the visit of Pasha to US, India appears to be keen on following the matter in whatever way it can to expose the ISI for its misdeeds.................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JSC8yMDExLzA2LzAzI0FyMDA3MDE=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
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