Headley, 50, told the Chicago trial court that Major Iqbal gave him the New York cell phone number starting with 646 so that both of them could have unhindered communication while he was in India.
To deceive Indian security agencies, ISI's Major Iqbal used a US cell phone number to communicate with David Headley, a co-accused in 26/11 attacks, while the Pakistani-American was scouting for targets in India.
As a star witness during the just-concluded trial of his childhood friend Tahawwur Husain Rana, Headley, 50, told the Chicago court that Major Iqbal gave him the New York cell phone number starting with 646 so that both of them could have unhindered communication while he was in India.
"I had that (New York cell phone number of Major Iqbal) before leaving for India. And these instructions that he was giving me on the last e-mail, he had already given them to me in person," Headley told the court.
"What did he say about the 646 number, Major Iqbal, to you when you talked to him about it, in person?" prosecutor asked Headley.
"He said he had a number, a United States phone number," Headley said.
"Did he explain to you how he was able to do that?" the attorney asked.
"No", he responded.
"Did he provide to you the number?" he was asked.
"He did," Headley said.
"Did he provide or did he instruct you as to when to use it?" he was asked during the trial.
Headley said that he was asked to call on that number to talk to Major Iqbal when he was travelling inside India.
This was done, Headley, explained, because all calls between India and Pakistan were mostly monitored.
Headley said after his trip to Mumbai in April 2008 he went back to Pakistan to meet his ISI and LeT handlers and brief them on his surveillances, in particular about the landing site.
"He (Major Iqbal) agreed with my selection, and he had also asked for another alternative, which was to take a fishing boat out and just meet the boat that was coming in and offload them into the Indian fishing boat and take them to Mumbai. Before leaving in April, he had already asked me to look into that possibility," Headley said referring to his conversation with Major Iqbal.
Before leaving in April, Major Iqbal had asked Headley to check the possibility of him going out in an Indian fishing boat like he was fishing and meet the incoming Pakistani boat and then have them get on the Indian boat and then just bring the Indian boat back to the shore.
"I had looked into that as well," Headley told the court.
Headley told the court that he informed Major Iqbal that this was not possible.
"Why not" he was asked.
"Because he wanted the boats to go out many miles into the ocean, and foreigners who are not Indian needed special permits to go that far out into the ocean," he explained in response to the question.
The landing site in Mumbai, he said was secure, was not visible from the street even though it was very close to it, and there was a taxi stand nearby. It is at this meeting that he handed over the videos and GPS devices to them.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}