'Report of Headley naming Pak officers baseless'

Pakistan military on Wednesday dismissed as 'fabricated' reports that Pakistani-American David Headley, who confessed to plotting Mumbai attacks, had named three army and Inter Services Intelligence officials for their involvement in the 26/11 strikes, claiming that it was an attempt to malign security agencies.

A spokesman for the Inter-Services Public Relations 'strongly denied the contents of a news report which appeared in a section of the national and international media, quoting unsubstantiated sources, that David Headley, a suspect (in the) Mumbai attacks, has named three officers of the Pakistan Army and ISI about their direct involvement in the Mumbai attack.'

The spokesman described the allegations as 'false and fabricated' and said they were aimed at maligning the Pakistan army and the Inter-Services Intelligence.

"There is absolutely no linkage or connection, whatsoever, between the army (and the) ISI and David Headley. The report appears to be part of an overall design with a malicious intent to bring disrepute to our national security organisations," he said.

The media report had contended that Headley had named three serving and one retired officers of the Pakistan Army and ISI who were allegedly involved in the Mumbai attacks.

49-year-old Headley recently pleaded guilty in a Chicago court to 12 terror charges, including a conspiracy to bomb public places in India. Pakistani authorities have arrested seven suspects, including Lashker-e-Tayiba's operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, for involvement in the attacks.

They have also maintained that 'non-state actors' were behind the attacks and that Pakistan's state institutions, including the ISI, were not linked to the incident in any way.