Mumbai case trial in Pak adjourned till April 28

Islamabad, Apr 17: The trial of seven Pakistani suspects, including LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, charged with involvement in the Mumbai attacks, was today adjourned till April 28, when prosecutors will submit a report on a judicial commission's visit to India.

Prosecutors told Judge Shahid Rafique, who is hearing the case, that they expected to receive a report from Indian authorities on the Pakistani judicial commission's visit to Mumbai by April 28. The judge then adjourned the case till that date.

"We have written to the Indian authorities in this regard and we expect to receive the report by April 28," chief prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar said. None of the defence lawyers appeared for today's hearing, which was held in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi for security reasons.

The seven suspects are currently being held at the same prison.

The anti-terrorism court is unlikely to move forward in the Mumbai attacks case till it receives the report on the judicial commission's interviews with Indian officials and witnesses in Mumbai.

The eight-member commission, which included prosecutors and defence lawyers, returned from a visit to India last month.

The panel travelled to Mumbai, where it recorded the statements of the magistrate who recorded the confession of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving attacker, the police officer who led the investigation into the attacks and two doctors who conducted the autopsies of the terrorists and victims.

The seven suspects, including Lakhvi, have been charged with planning, financing and executing the terror attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people in November 2008. The trial of the suspects has stalled due to various technical issues for the past year.

PTI