The Union Home Ministry’s move to send a team to the United States to press for access to American Lashkar operative David Coleman Headley and gather additional evidences on 26/11 terror attack from the FBI has turned into a damp squib.
The US department of homeland security has informed the MHA that it cannot immediately discuss the issues raised by the MHA, particularly the pending Letters Rogatory — around 20 of them — sent by Indian authorities to access information on various counts-particularly the source of funding behind Headley’s reconnaissance trips to India , his passport and bank details among others — forcing the MHA to cancel its visit. The decision to cancel the MHA team’s visit was apparently taken to save embarrassment to the four-member team which was all set to travel to the US last week.
“No reason was given by the US homeland security for refusing to discuss the pending issues , particularly the letters rogatory — which was high on our agenda. we had no option but to cancel the visit,” an MHA official said. Incidentally, while the MHA decided to cancel its visit at the last moment, the National investigation Agency (NIA) official had already left for the US.