Working day-night to resolve Headley access: US

The US is constantly working at the "highest levels" to provide direct access to India as "quickly" as it can to Lashkar operative David Headley, who has confessed to plotting the Mumbai attacks.

Maintaining that the process of direct access to the Pakistani-American was full of judicial and legal "complications", US Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer on Monday said: "...This is a sensitive issue, and because it is so important to you, we are going to resolve it. Provide this access as quickly as we can.

"We want to ensure that justice is delivered to the attackers. Nobody understands the importance of Headley as I do and the US. This is the highest priority (providing direct access)," the envoy said, adding, "We are literally working night and day at the highest levels of our government to resolve this issue of direct access to Headley."

The envoy went on to add that the US' efforts to provide direct access to Headley was yet another example of how strong the relationship today was between India and his country. "Five-six years back, these kind of offers were off the table."

Roemer refused to comment on possibility of extradition of Headley, but said India has not formally asked for this.

He also maintained that Headley's significance and symbolism in India to the bloodthirsty terrorism of Mumbai is similar in some ways to Osama Bin Laden's connection to 9/11 for America.

During his last week's visit to the US, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had received "very high-level" assurances from the US government that it will get access to Headley with the issue figuring in the meeting between him and US President Barack Obama. Roemer said US was currently providing indirect access to Headley by sharing the information gathered with India and that he was putting forth questions by Indian officials to avert any possible terror attack in future on both India and his country.