Interior Minister Rehman Malik has given verbal assurance to his Indian counterpart Sushil Kumar Shinde that India will be allowed to examine evidence and question the masterminds (currently in jail) behind the Mumbai attacks.
The request was raised by Shinde on the sidelines of SAARC Home Ministers’ Conference at Maldives.
India may send a team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to Pakistan to have a look at the evidence gathered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the 26/11 probe and also possibly to question its key handlers who are currently in jail.
Seeing it as a significant move forward, the Indian Home Ministry has asked the Ministry of External Affairs to take it up formally with Pakistan and set a date soon for NIA’s visit, according to Indian media.
Despite getting verbal assurances from Pakistani interior minister, Home Ministry officials are doubtful if Pakistan would stand by its commitment or just allow it to merely complete a formality and take a moral high ground, the paper said.
“Ideally, besides sharing evidence with our investigation agency, Pakistan should also give it access to question the seven handlers who gave training and instructions to 10 terrorists, including the lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab, accused of killing 166 people in Mumbai and also allow it to speak to key witnesses who have divulged details of their training in camps,” a senior official said.
FIA’s former head Tariq Khosa, who supervised Mumbai terror attacks probe, revealed recently that investigators had found Lashkar-e-Taiba camps at Thatta and Karachi, the capital of Sindh province and had located the Pakistani boat that was used by the team of 10 terrorists to travel from Karachi to Indian waters.
“These are very important developments and we hope Pakistan would see reason in these to let the probe reach a logical end,” an official said. Sources said that India would also want Pakistan to allow NIA’s visit before re-sending its judicial commission to cross examine the four prosecution witnesses.
Pakistan’s request for re-sending its judicial commission for cross examination is pending with the Indian Law Ministry, which is expected to take a final view on it by mid October.
NEW DELHI
Online
Interior Minister Rehman Malik has given verbal assurance to his Indian counterpart Sushil Kumar Shinde that India will be allowed to examine evidence and question the masterminds (currently in jail) behind the Mumbai attacks.
The request was raised by Shinde on the sidelines of SAARC Home Ministers’ Conference at Maldives.
India may send a team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to Pakistan to have a look at the evidence gathered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the 26/11 probe and also possibly to question its key handlers who are currently in jail.
Seeing it as a significant move forward, the Indian Home Ministry has asked the Ministry of External Affairs to take it up formally with Pakistan and set a date soon for NIA’s visit, according to Indian media.
Despite getting verbal assurances from Pakistani interior minister, Home Ministry officials are doubtful if Pakistan would stand by its commitment or just allow it to merely complete a formality and take a moral high ground, the paper said.
“Ideally, besides sharing evidence with our investigation agency, Pakistan should also give it access to question the seven handlers who gave training and instructions to 10 terrorists, including the lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab, accused of killing 166 people in Mumbai and also allow it to speak to key witnesses who have divulged details of their training in camps,” a senior official said.
FIA’s former head Tariq Khosa, who supervised Mumbai terror attacks probe, revealed recently that investigators had found Lashkar-e-Taiba camps at Thatta and Karachi, the capital of Sindh province and had located the Pakistani boat that was used by the team of 10 terrorists to travel from Karachi to Indian waters.
“These are very important developments and we hope Pakistan would see reason in these to let the probe reach a logical end,” an official said. Sources said that India would also want Pakistan to allow NIA’s visit before re-sending its judicial commission to cross examine the four prosecution witnesses.
Pakistan’s request for re-sending its judicial commission for cross examination is pending with the Indian Law Ministry, which is expected to take a final view on it by mid October.