26/11 Pak commission in Mumbai; wants to cross-examine four witnesses

Mumbai:  The Pakistani Judicial Commission on the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks arrived in Mumbai today to find more evidence against the seven accused being tried in Pakistan. Speaking exclusively to NDTV, commission member Fawad Sher said that they will request the Indian judge presiding over the hearing to allow them to cross examine the four witnesses.

The Indian government has, however, made it clear to Pakistan that the commission is here to only record the statements and not cross-examine the Indian officials. Pakistan's contention is that since charges against the seven accused are based on the lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab's statement in Mumbai, it is necessary to submit critical versions of four people: The policemen who conducted the initial probe and the doctors who performed autopsies on the nine accomplices of Kasab who were killed. The Pakistani team says these statements may help quicken the trial.

India had been pressing for the conviction of the seven men of the banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Pakistani custody, alleging they masterminded the 26/11 attacks, but Pakistan has taken a long time to bring them to trial.

166 people were killed in Mumbai in the attack on November 26, 2008.

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