Pak to india : 26/11 evidence not admissible
Islamabad: It is open now. Pakistan government has formally told India that the evidence which he provided in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks case is not admissible in a Pakistani court as defence lawyers were not allowed to cross-examine Indian officials.
According to a report published in The Express Tribune on Wednesday, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry has informed the Indian government that the evidence is not admissible in the trial of seven Pakistani suspects, including Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, since defence lawyers were not allowed to cross-examine Indian officials when a Pakistani judicial commission visited Mumbai in March.
In a letter sent to the Indian government on Tuesday, the Interior Ministry cited the ruling of a Rawalpindi-based anti-terrorism court and said cross-examination of key Indian officials is needed to make the evidence admissible in Pakistan. Pakistan said that the defence lawyers were not allowed to cross-examine Indian officials, and hence the proof remained invalid.
“Sources privy to the investigations in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) informed The Express Tribune that the interior ministry had made it clear to India that the evidence would not have any legal footing in Pakistan if the Indian officials were not allowed to be cross-examined by the lawyers representing the seven arrested accused facing trial in Pakistan,” it said.
According to reports, India had given Pakistan evidences including the confessional statement of lone surviving terrorist of 26/11 Ajmal Kasab and statements of four Indian officials.
Meanwhile, a Mumbai Metropolitan court on Tuesday extended the police custody of arrested key plotter of 2008 Mumbai attacks Abu Jundal till August 13.
At least 166 people were killed and more than 300 injured when the Pakistan-based terrorists attacked the Indian financial capital in 2008, targeting high-profile civilian targets, including two luxury hotels, a railway station and a Jewish community center.
