US refutes India’s charge of not sharing Headley info

US Ambassador Timothy Roemer on Wednesday stated that America provided India ?unprecedented access? to LeT operative David Headley as his country had nothing to hide.

However, India?s Home Secretary GK Pillai maintained that the US did not share enough information on Headley, even post-26/11.

Roemer, refuting charges that the US had not shared enough information with India on Headley and his possible role in 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, said US had provided ?unprecedented access? to Headley.

?We weren?t afraid of what he would say as we had nothing to hide,? Roemer said.

A Pakistani-American, Headley was arrested from Chicago in US in September last year and has pleaded guilty to his role in planning execute the Mumbai attacks.

An Indian team had interrogated Headley earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Indian Home Secretary Pillai, in an interview with CNN-IBN, claimed that US did not share enough information.

?They did not share Headley?s name. Had they done so, at least after the horrific Mumbai attacks, Headley could have been nabbed as he traveled to India in 2009 March,? Pillai said.

On reports that US authorities had failed to act against Headley even when his former wives had tipped about his Laskar involvement, Pillai said, ?You could say we were disappointed that the name of David Headley was not shared, if not pre-26/11 at least post-26/11, so that at least when he came subsequently to India at that time we could have nabbed him here.?

The Headley issue is likely to be high on the agenda for Indo-US talks when US President Barack Obama visits India early next month.