Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley had participated in terror camps being run by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba in Pakistan, despite promises by the then president Parvez Musharraf in 2002 to the George W Bush administration, that all such facilities will be shut down.
Headley, a LeT operative arrested in October 2009 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, had attended five such training camps run by the terror outfit between 2002 and 2003, according to Headley's plea agreement document, which was submitted by United States Attorney Patrick J FitzGerald before a Chicago court on Thursday.
He attended a three-week course in February 2002 that provided indoctrination on the merits of waging jihad, next he participated in a three-week course in August 2002 to get training in the use of weapons and grenades Headley learnt about close combat tactics, the use of weapons and grenades and survival skills during a three-month course in April 2003; he got training about the counter-surveillance skills in August 2003 and in December 2003, he received combat and tactical training. Notably, in January 2002, Musharraf had said that he would not allow the LeT to carry any anti-India activities inside Pakistan.
But the LeT continued to operate terror training camps, even as Musharraf conducted back-channel negotiations with India on the resolution of the Kashmir problem between 2002 and 2006, the agreement said.
"Starting in or about August 2002, defendant (Headley) attended a three-week course and received training in, among other skills, the use of weapons and grenades. Starting in or about April 2003, defendant attended a three-month course and received training in various skills, including, but not limited to, close combat tactics, the use of weapons and grenades, and survival skills," the agreement said.
"Starting in or around August 2003, defendant attended a three-week course and received training in, among other skills, counter-surveillance. Starting in or around December 2003, defendant attended an approximately three month course and received combat and tactical training," it said.
Headley had pleaded guilty on all 12 counts of charges against him in a Chicago court. The plea agreement also proves beyond doubt the direct connection between LeT and the Al Qaeda. According to it, a retired Pakistani Major Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed (Abdur Rehman), also known as 'Pasha', told Headley that if the LeT did not help him in carrying out an attack against a Danish newspaper, he would get someone else.
Although not identified by name at the time, Headley later learned this individual was co-defendant Ilyas Kashmiri.
Abdur Rehman previously had told Headley that he had been working with Kashmiri and that Kashmiri was in direct contact with a senior leader of Al Qaeda, the agreement said.
