Islamabad: In an apparent bid to facilitate a meeting between their prime ministers at the SAARC summit, Pakistan on Sunday responded to India`s three dossiers given to it in February and asked New Delhi to hand over Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist captured alive during the Mumbai attacks.
Pakistan`s request for access to Kasab was contained in
its response to the three Indian dossiers provided to it
during the February 25 Foreign Secretary-level talks in New
Delhi, official sources said.
It asked India to hand over Kasab to facilitate the trial
of LeT`s operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six
others charged with involvement in the Mumbai attacks, in a
Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court.
The Pakistani response was handed over by Foreign Office
officials to Indian Deputy High Commissioner Rahul Kulshreshth
Sunday morning.
Officials at the Indian High Commission confirmed the
handing over of certain information by the Foreign Office but
declined to provide details.
Other sources said Pakistan had formally asked India to
serve arrest warrants issued by a Pakistani anti-terrorism
court for Kasab and Fahim Ansari, an Indian national facing
trial along with Kasab in a special court in Mumbai on charges
of involvement in the attacks.
The sources said Pakistan wanted access to Kasab and
Ansari so that they could appear before the Pakistani
anti-terrorism court, which was a legal requirement.
Observers said Pakistan`s actions appeared to be aimed at
ensuring a meeting between Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of
the April 28-29 SAARC summit in Bhutan.
Both sides have indicated that a bilateral meeting has
not yet been scheduled but kept the possibility of such an
encounter open.
The Pakistani side also made a request for three Indian
officials, including two magistrates and an investigator, to
be allowed to travel to Pakistan to testify that they had
recorded Kasab`s statement.
Dawn News channel quoted unnamed sources as saying that
the Foreign Office had provided six dossiers to Indian Deputy
High Commissioner Kulshreshth.
The channel also reported that the dossiers contained
Pakistan`s responses to queries raised by India in its
dossiers.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik yesterday raised the issue
of the arrest and handing over of Kasab during a meeting with
Indian High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal.
PTI
