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India on Tuesday said the interrogation of David Coleman Headley, a key accused in the Mumbai terror attack case, has revealed the nexus of terror groups with the Pakistani establishment, an aspect which makes it difficult to deal with the menace of terrorism.
National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon said India now has a "much clearer picture" on the infrastructure of terrorism and its support systems in South Asia.
"I think we know what needs to be done and we also know who is responsible for terrorism. I think what has happened is we have a much clearer picture today of the infrastructure of terrorism, the ecosystem that supports terrorism which frankly
is not confined to South Asia but affects the entire world," he said at ORF-Heritage Foundation Dialogue.
"For us, it has been brought home most recently by what we learn from Headley which confirmed many of the things we knew before. And it is really the links with the official establishment and with the existing intelligence agencies it is that nexus which makes it a much harder phenomenon for us to deal with," Menon said.
His comments came against the backdrop of revelations that Headley made about Pakistani Navy training 26/11 attackers and ISI controlling the 60-hour-long Mumbai assault from beginning to end.
The NSA said the worst thoughts expressed by a similar dialogue a year ago had come true and "it is today actually even less possible to be optimistic about the success of existing counter-terrorism strategies in South Asia in Pakistan or in Afghanistan.
He did not elaborate on the "worst thoughts" but was clearly referring to the support Pakistani establishment gives to terrorists who are used as a political tool.
"It is not because we do not understand the problem or the strategies are intrinsically flawed. No. But I think we know what needs to be done and we also know who is responsible for terrorism," Menon said.
"Unfortunately, what we know and what we see suggests that these links or nexus (between terror outfits and official establishment) would not be broken soon. If anything, it is getting stronger," he said.
Headley, a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative who had conducted recce for the Mumbai attacks, is in a Chicago jail and was recently interrogated by a team of National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Home Secretary G K Pillai said earlier this month that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had a "much more significant role" to play in the Mumbai terror attacks and it was "literally controlling and coordinating the attacks from the be ginning till the end."