Opening arguments begin Monday in the trial of a U.S.-based businessman implicated in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, a case that will likely spotlight Pakistan’s alleged link to the deadly siege.
Attorneys will present their cases to the jury in the trial of Tahawwur Rana, which began last week in the U.S. city of Chicago.
Prosecutors say Rana helped a former friend serve as a scout for a Pakistani militant group that carried out the three-day assault in India’s financial hub which killed 166 people.
The friend, David Coleman Headley, is a Pakistani-American who has already pleaded guilty for laying the groundwork for the attacks. Headley is expected to be the star witness in the case against Rana.
Analysts say the trial could have international implications, with court documents revealing ties between the Pakistani militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Agency, the ISI.
Rana is accused of allowing Headley to use his immigration firm as a cover overseas, while Headley scouted the attacks in Mumbai. Rana’s attorneys say the businessman had no knowledge that Headley was helping plot the assault.
Rana is a Canadian national who has lived in Chicago for years.