26/11 perpetrators unlikely to be nailed due to Pak's 'weak' criminal justice system

New York, Nov.26 (ANI): A year after the ghastly Mumbai terror attacks, in which about 170 people were killed and numerous lives were ruined, Pakistan is yet to take credible action against the perpetrators.

While Islamabad has been patting its own back by arresting seven of the suspects, including Lashkar-e-Taiba's (LeT) operations chief Zaki ur-Rehman Lakhvi, it has hardly done anything substantial to prosecute the militants.

On Wednesday, the government reframed the charges on all the seven accused naming Lakhvi as the mastermind of the attacks, what clearly appeared as an attempt to protect Hafeez Mohammad Saeed, Jamaat-ud Daawa chief, who India believes in the main architect of the Mumbai massacre.

Charges may have been framed, but the history of the country suggests that it is hard to expect any stern action from Pakistan's 'weak' judiciary.

"Pakistan's criminal justice system is extremely weak. Intimidation of witnesses is routine, and prosecutors will be hard pressed to persuade people to take the stand against such a powerful, well-connected militant group," The New York Times reports.

The case is highly charged, in part because Lashkar-e-Taiba was nurtured by Pakistan itself as part of a proxy war against India in Kashmir, the newspaper added.

Experts also pointed out that the age-old animosity between the leaderships of the two countries has complicated the trial of the accused to a great extent.

"Because of political wrangling between India and Pakistan, evidence is being exchanged through ministries instead of law enforcement agencies, possibly complicating the trial," the daily quoted an international law expert, Ahmer Bilal Soofi, as saying. (ANI)