LAHORE: The Indian government is reluctant to send its 24 witnesses to Pakistan to record their statements in the Mumbai terror attack case, the prosecution told an anti-terrorism court conducting the trial.
The anti-terrorism court held the hearing in the case at Adiyala Jail after a break of over four months. “The prosecution told the court that the Indian government was reluctant to send 24 Indian witnesses to Pakistan to record their statements in the case,” a court official told Press Trust of India (PTI) after the hearing.
The court was also informed that the Indian government had not only refused to send the witnesses but also demanded re-investigation into the case. The prosecution said the Indian witnesses statements were needed to conclude the Mumbai case, which has been pending for the last seven years.
“The case may not be concluded till the Indian witnesses appear in the trial court,” prosecution said. The court adjourned the hearing till March 22.
In a reply to Pakistan’s letter regarding sending 24 Indian witnesses to record their statements in the Mumbai attack case, New Delhi has asked Islamabad to re-investigate the case and also demanded trial of Jammat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Saeed and Lashkar-e-Taiba operation commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi in the light of evidence it (India) had provided to it.
An interior ministry official had told the PTI that Pakistan had no issue to try any suspect of Mumbai case provided it had evidence against him. “If India provides some strong evidence against Saeed in Mumbai case we will try him. Lakhvi was released on bail because of lack of solid evidence against him,” the official said.
