THIS is with reference to a report (Oct 22) that David Headley, a US citizen, was sent on a secret mission to South Asia by American intelligence agencies to join the Lashkar- i-Taiba and other such militant organisations, a fact that US federal officials have acknowledged.

In court papers submitted by the FBI, US federal authorities have said that they had hoped to reach top Al Qaeda leaders through him but Headley slipped from the US control to become a terrorist himself.

Somehow, the story does not sound plausible because the account of Headley becoming a rogue should have been immediately reported to the local authorities concerned and that he had disappeared, so that his passport could have been cancelled instantly.

But no such thing occurred. Headley carried on with his jaunts from India to Pakistan and to the US with complete confidence, befriending many influential people on the way, while the CIA and the FBI kept mute.

According to reports issued by the Indians, Headley made eight trips to India and in each trip he set up a logistic base in Mumbai and opened up various accounts. Headley had orchestrated an organised and well-structured plan with a clear strategy for his escape after the deed was done.

With the deed of inflicting colossal damage on the Indians, shattering Pakistan's reputation as a peaceful nation and bringing ruination to the trust that had been built between the two neighbours, Headley kept his composure and was busy devising yet other such horrible plans of destruction.

Could a mere individual be so invincible and unshakable? Who offered him a greater price, than the superpower was already doing, to defy the US dictates and change masters?

Were the new masters Pakistani? If so, then what did Pakistan gain out of the situation? What possible benefit could the ISI have extracted out of such a situation than a maligned reputation?

The aggravated security conditions profit none in the region, but only the external players that includes the US can gain a large chunk from the chaos and turmoil that South Asia has become, who legitimise their presence in the region by fuelling and increasing the turbulence for a protracted and justified intrusion and intervention.

MARYA MUFTI
Lahore