- Interior ministry asked to inform court until June 6
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Interior on Wednesday sought more time to apprise an anti-terrorism court hearing the 2008 Mumbai attacks case whether 27 Indian nationals will testify in the case or not.
The ATC judge, allowing the request, directed the ministry to inform it until June 6 in this regard.
At the previous hearing, the judge noted that the case had entered the final phase as only two witnesses from Pakistan were to record their depositions.
The judge observed that the court has been awaiting Indian response over whether 27 witnesses from India will testify in the case or not and directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior to inform him in this regard.
He said that so far, 85 witnesses presented by FIA have recorded their statements. A list of 150 witnesses was provided to the court, out of which 63 were stricken off the list for being unnecessary, the judge said.
A total of eight suspects were nominated in the case, including alleged mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younus Anjum.
Lakhvi was granted bail by the Lahore High Court (LHC) in December 2014, but he was detained under the maintenance of public order (MPO). The court also set aside his detention later, clearing the way for his release.
The ATC had earlier asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to approach India to allow the witnesses in the case to appear before it, but no progress so far has been made in this regard.
Moreover, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Additional Director General Wajid Zia also recorded his statement at the court on Wednesday. The court directed another witness Zahid Akhtar to appear on next hearing on June 6 for cross-examination by the defence side.
It is pertinent to mention here that the case is related to the attacks in India’s financial capital Mumbai on November 26, 2008, in which at least 166 people were killed.