NEW DELHI, Aug 26:
India is likely to give its nod for the visit of a Pakistani judicial commission to Mumbai for the second time and allow cross-examination of 26/11 terror attack case witnesses for gathering evidence against seven accused, including LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
A decision in favour of the second visit of the judicial commission is expected soon as New Delhi does not want to come in the way of the proceedings in a court in Rawalipindi in Pakistan which is hearing the case against those involved in the Mumbai carnage.
“A decision is expected soon. Once it is taken, we will convey it to Pakistan,” a senior Government official said.
After the Pakistani court dealing with the 26/11 case had said that evidence collected by the commission during its first visit to India in March had no “evidentiary value” to punish those involved in the Mumbai terror attack, Islamabad had asked New Delhi to allow its panel to visit Mumbai again.
Pakistan had conveyed to India that it was necessary to take forward the case in the Rawalpindi court and, hence, the commission should be allowed to visit India again for cross- examination of a metropolitan magistrate, a police officer and two doctors, who conducted the autopsies on the nine killed terrorists involved in the attacks.
Last month, Union Home Secretary R K Singh had said India believed that the evidence collected by the commission had evidentiary value.
The eight-member Pakistani judicial commission, which included prosecutors and defence lawyers, had visited Mumbai in March.
Though they were allowed to interview the magistrate, the police officer and two doctors, the panel was not allowed to cross-examine them in line with an agreement between New Delhi and Islamabad.
The Rawalpindi-based anti-terrorism court of Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rehman had said in an order that all the proceedings and the report of the commission that visited Mumbai in March were “illegal”.
The lawyers defending Lakhvi and six other accused—all of them are in judicial custody—had opposed the commission’s report, saying it had “no legal value” as the panel was not allowed to cross-examine the witnesses during its visit to Mumbai.
However, Indian officials had said that cross-examination of the witnesses was not allowed following an agreement between New Delhi and Islamabad.
The 2008 Mumbai carnage by 10 Pakistani terrorists had left 166 people dead. Nine of the terrorists were killed by the security forces while Ajmal Kasab, was nabbed and is lodged in a Mumbai jail. He haws been given capital punishment. (PTI)
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