New Delhi: India would have sought “much more” punishment for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative David Headley had he been tried here, External Affairs minister Salman Khurshid said Friday.
The Pakistani American, who played a key role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, was Thursday sentenced to 35 years in prison by a US court.
“Had we tried him we would have sought much more,” Khurshid told CNN-IBN when asked whether the 35-year sentence was adequate.
Under a plea deal, US prosecutors “had agreed not to seek the death penalty against him and to not extradite him to Pakistan, India or Denmark for the offences to which he pleaded guilty”.
Asked whether Headley would ever be tried in India, Khurshid said: “The question could only be answered by the prosecuting authorities I cannot speculate.”
He further said that India has been “consistently” pushing for the Pakistani American terrorist’s extradition and trial in India and that “it’s good to know that he’s being made accountable and that he has at least got 35 years”.
Headley’s 35-year sentence would be followed by five years of supervised release. There is no federal parole and defendants must serve at least 85 percent of their sentence.
-IANS
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