New Delhi:
India on Friday said the plea bargain between Pakistani-American David Headley and the US government was not a "setback" as it could enable access to the Mumbai attacks accused through the US judicial process.
Home Minister P Chidambaram said India would continue to seek extradition of 49-year-old Headley, a Lashkar-e Toiba operative, besides charging him in the 26/11 case at an "appropriate time".
Chidambaram, however, acknowledged that Headley's extradition was not going to be easy as he had committed crime both in the US and India.
"It is not a setback," he told reporters when asked to comment on the plea bargain between Headley and the US government under which the 26/11 accused would escape death penalty and instead could be imprisoned for his life.
Under the plea bargain, Headley has agreed to "fully testify to any foreign judicial proceedings held in the US, either through video conferencing or through Letters Rogatory" Chidambaram said.
"So, there is a good chance that he will testify in a US court where Indian authorities will have a chance to ask questions," he said.