Our stand on Ishrat vindicated: BJP

“The statement of Headley to NIA is a proof that those talking about human rights and sympathising with Ishrat are anti-Gujarat and are out to tarnish the state’s image. This vindicates our stand that Ishrat was an LeT operative who had come along with three other terrorists to carry out bomb blasts in Gujarat,” BJP spokesperson Vijay Rupani said in a statement.

He added: “It was because of the alertness of Gujarat Police that these terrorists were gunned down in an encounter.”

Rupani alleged “anti-Gujarat” forces,with help from some NGOs and the Congress,have been trying to derive political mileage out of the incident.

Pakistani-origin LeT terrorist David Headley has reportedly told NIA sleuths on a visit to the US that Ishrat was a member of the outfit’s suicide squad and was inducted by top LeT operative Muzamil — in-charge of the outfit’s operations in India till 2007.

Ishrat (19) from Mumbai,husband Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai and two Pakistani nationals — Amjad Ali and Jishan Johar Abdul Ghani — were gunned down by a Gujarat Police team on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15,2004.

Meanwhile,the family of Ishrat Jahan has refuted media reports attributed to Headley that their daughter was a ‘fidayeen’,seeking clarity on the matter from Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.

“I believe my daughter is innocent. She could have never done this. We always teach our children to love our country and this report is incorrect,” Ishrat’s mother Shamima Kausar told reporters.

Abdul Rauf Lala,a family friend added: “We demand Home Minister P Chidambaram to clarify within two days the truth and also confirm whether Headley had indeed told NIA that Ishrat was a fidayeen.”