Krishna bats for access to Headley

As Indian investigators are in the US hoping to quiz Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said on Thursday that providing access to him is "is perhaps the logical next step."

In his opening remarks at the inauguration of the first-ever Indo-US Strategic Dailogue, Krishna sought access to Headley, who has pleaded guilty to plotting the deadly Mumbai attacks. Without naming 49-year-old Headley, Krishna said giving access to people apprehended by the US in connection with the the attacks "is perhaps the logical next step."

India has been seeking access to Headley, currently lodged in a Chicago prison, to unravel the entire conspiracy surrounding the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The US has assured India that it would give access to him. President Barack Obama had in April assured Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that India would get direct access to Headley.

Krishna's comments assume significance in the wake of a team from India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) currently camping in the US hoping to quiz Headley. US officials have been tight-lipped about giving access to Indian investigators.