Islamabad: India again conveyed its
concerns to Pakistan regarding the lack of progress in the
trial of Mumbai attack suspects on Saturday, asking it to take
"expeditious action" to bring to justice all perpetrators of
the terrorist assault.
New Delhi`s concerns were conveyed to Interior
Minister Rehman Malik by High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal
during a meeting at the Interior Ministry this evening.
The Indian envoy reiterated the concerns that were
expressed by the External Affairs Ministry on the eve of the
second anniversary of the attack regarding the lack of
"substantive and verifiable progress" in the ongoing trial of
the Pakistani suspects, the spokesman for the Indian High
Commission said.
"The High Commissioner expressed the hope that
expeditious action would be taken to bring all the
perpetrators to justice," the spokesman told PTI.
In a note verbale issued on Thursday, the External
Affairs Ministry regretted that progress had not been made in
bringing the perpetrators of the attack to justice despite
"repeated assurances given by Pakistan`s leadership at the
highest level" and the extensive cooperation provided by India
for the investigation and trial in Pakistan.
India again called on Pakistan to fulfil its
commitments to bring all the perpetrators of the attacks to
justice and to unravel the conspiracy behind the incident.
"A time-bound fulfilment of its stated commitments by
Pakistan would not only go a long way towards building trust
and confidence between the two countries but would also be a
reflection of Pakistan`s commitment to combat terrorism
comprehensively," the note verbale said.
Earlier in the day, Interior Minister Malik contended
that the trial of seven Pakistani suspects, including
Lashker-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, has been held
up because of New Delhi`s delay in granting permission for a
commission to visit India to interview key witnesses.
The commission needs to visit India to validate lone
surviving attacker Ajmal Kasab`s statement as it forms a key
part of the case, Malik said.
"The delay is not from Pakistan`s side... We have
proposed to India that a Pakistani commission can visit New
Delhi to validate Ajmal Kasab`s statement, but India has not
given any response so far.
"The delay is on the Indian side," he said.
The Federal Investigation Agency arrested the seven
suspects on charges of facilitating and planning the attacks
that killed 166 people.
However, their trial has been marred by controversy
and procedural delays and only one out of over 160 witnesses
has testified so far.
PTI
