Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 19 (IANS) The US Friday asked Pakistan to show progress in acting against Lashkar-e-Taiba, the suspected architect of the Mumbai carnage, and stressed that the confession of Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley showed the “increasing global ambition of LeT”.
Pakistan has made “important progress on the issue of terror but there is still work to be done”, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake told reporters here. Blake is currently on a two-day visit to India.

Blake stressed that Headley’s confession had showed how the threat of LeT had “grown significantly” and asked Pakistan to work more on that front.

“….We still think that there needs to be progress on LeT in particular,” he said.

“The Headley case in our view illustrates the increasing global scope and ambition of LeT and therefore, the need for all of our countries to take the LeT threat seriously and cooperate with each other,” said Blake.

Blake ruled out Headley’s extradition to India but assured full access to information relating to the 26/11 plotter.

Blake also met officials of the external affairs ministry to discuss the evolving situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Headley Thursday pleaded guilty to a dozen federal terrorism charges in a Chicago court and admitted his role in planning the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

Headley also admitted that he attended training camps in Pakistan operated by LeT on five separate occasions between 2002 and 2005.