Headley’s girlfriend crossed Wagah into India

In what suggests David Headley’s links with the establishment in Pakistan,the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has found that his 29-year-old Moroccan girlfriend Faiza Outalha was given special permission by Pakistan to cross over to India on foot through the Wagah border and back between May and July 2008.

Outalha,sources told The Sunday Express,is the woman who flew from Karachi to Mumbai to join Headley in April 2007. She then stayed with Headley in the Taj Hotel for two days and for one day at the Trident before returning to Karachi.

Since both the hotels were targeted in the 26/11 attacks,investigators believe that Outalha was part of the Headley’s reconnaissance plan and may have been carrying a message for him from his Lashkar handlers in Pakistan. Following the trail of Headley and Outalha,investigators have found that the Moroccan national travelled to Manali in Himachal Pradesh during a 2008 trip and befriended another US couple at the hill station. While the reason for her trip to Manali is being investigated,the NIA has also questioned a US national — who lives with his wife in Goa on a tourist visa for many years — to find out details about his meeting with Outalha in Manali.

What is puzzling NIA investigators is how Headley managed to move the Pakistan Foreign Ministry and Immigration authorities there to allow Outalha to cross the Attari-Wagah border on foot. For,a special permission is required from the Pakistan Foreign Ministry,which is then intimated to the Indian High Commission in Pakistan so that land visa is given to the traveler after a check by Indian authorities.

Given the proximity of Headley’s handlers with Pakistan Army,Outalha also returned to Pakistan through the same route in July 2008.

Sources said the NIA is waiting for Headley’s voice samples and copy of his e-mails to his Pak handlers which the FBI has assured to give next month before it files a chargesheet in the case.