A Pakistani court, conducting the trial of the seven accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror case, including Lashkar-e-Taiba operations chief Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, has issued arrest warrants for Ajmal Kasab and Fahim Ansari after India turned down Pakistan's request for sending the duo here to testify.
Anti-terror court judge Malik Muhammad Akram Awan, who conducts the in-camera trial in the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, issued the warrants after the prosecution informed the court that India contended that Kasab and Ansari could be sent to Pakistan if warrants were addressed to the court of jurisdiction.
This option was apparently suggested to Pakistan by India in its latest dossier after Islamabad requested that Kasab and Ansari be sent here to testify as the case prepared by the prosecution was being challenged on the ground that Kasab's confessional statement could be used only if he was being tried in the same court along with the seven accused in this case.
The proceedings have been adjourned till July 24 when the prosecution is expected to inform the court on the progress over the warrants. The warrants are the latest in a series of attempts by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to work around the technicality over the inadmissibility of Kasab's confessional statement.
Earlier this year, the FIA informed the court that it would approach Interpol, which facilitates cross-border police cooperation, to issue Red Corner Notices to Kasab and Ansari. This was followed up with a request to India to allow them to come to Pakistan to testify; failing which send the magistrate and the police official who recorded Kasab's statement.
The Hindu : News / International : Pak court issues fresh warrants against Kasab, Ansari
Anti-terror court judge Malik Muhammad Akram Awan, who conducts the in-camera trial in the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, issued the warrants after the prosecution informed the court that India contended that Kasab and Ansari could be sent to Pakistan if warrants were addressed to the court of jurisdiction.
This option was apparently suggested to Pakistan by India in its latest dossier after Islamabad requested that Kasab and Ansari be sent here to testify as the case prepared by the prosecution was being challenged on the ground that Kasab's confessional statement could be used only if he was being tried in the same court along with the seven accused in this case.
The proceedings have been adjourned till July 24 when the prosecution is expected to inform the court on the progress over the warrants. The warrants are the latest in a series of attempts by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to work around the technicality over the inadmissibility of Kasab's confessional statement.
Earlier this year, the FIA informed the court that it would approach Interpol, which facilitates cross-border police cooperation, to issue Red Corner Notices to Kasab and Ansari. This was followed up with a request to India to allow them to come to Pakistan to testify; failing which send the magistrate and the police official who recorded Kasab's statement.
The Hindu : News / International : Pak court issues fresh warrants against Kasab, Ansari
