Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that Pakistani investigators have collected enough evidence against the masterminds of the Mumbai 2008 terror attacks and was confident that the courts would convict them. “We have enough evidence and I am quite hopeful that they will be convicted. But if I say something much, that means I am overstepping my position because the matter has to be decided by a court,” Malik told CNN-IBN channel in an interview. India has been unhappy over the slow pace of trial of the 26/11 masterminds in Pakistan and most of the recent hearings have been immediately adjourned by the judge. “What I am confident is that all the evidence which has been collected, has been placed before the court and they will be convicted,” he added.
Malik, however, admitted that the trial was not going as fast as India wanted. “And for the fast track, you know that there are certain problems with the Evidence Act, and according to the act, we need some information to be certified from the Indian authorities,” he said.
He appreciated that India had agreed to allow a judicial commission from Pakistan to visit and collect evidence. “I’m really grateful to the Indian authorities for allowing our commission to go, and once it is there and after fulfilling its assignment it comes back, the case will be on a fast track,” he said. Malik asserted that Pakistan had every intention of prosecuting the 26/11 masterminds. “The intention of Pakistan is clear. Our prosecutors are working hard and once those legal formalities are over we will expedite the process,” he said. He thanked Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram for the success of the meeting of the home secretaries last month. “I think it was a good success and the credit is dedicated to Chidambaram who played a key role in it and also to the prime ministers. But basically what is important that what you discuss if you transform it into a practicality, which is the big deal. And I think the decisions taken in the group and now by the home secretary are all good decisions, like the focal point is the raise of official legal access and the visa relaxation, they all are good strategies,” Malik added.
