New Delhi: Frustrated over the long delay in
the 26/11 court proceedings in Pakistan, India is not hopeful
a judicial commission of that country will visit any time soon
to record statements of key persons involved in the Mumbai
attacks probe despite an announcement by a top functionary.
Home Ministry officials are sceptical over the recent
announcement of Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik that
the Pakistani judicial commission will visit India on March
12, as it repeatedly failed to keep its dates in the past.
Islamabad has been maintaining for the past two years
that to take the judicial process of the 26/11 case in
Pakistan to its logical conclusion, visit of the commission to
India to record the statement of Ramesh Mahale, investigating
officer of the case and R V Sawant-Waghul, the magistrate who
recorded the confessional statement of lone surviving
Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab, was necessary.
"But despite conveying dates several times, they have
failed to visit India citing one or the other reasons. The
last time they cancelled a pre-scheduled visit was in the
first week of February. We don`t think the Pakistani
commission is going to come anytime soon," an official said.
On March 29, 2011 after the India-Pakistan Home Secretary
level talks, a joint statement issued said dates for the visit
of the judicial commission from Pakistan will be conveyed to
India within four-six weeks. But nothing has happened.
Pakistan`s inability to send the commission has cast
doubt over its intention and put the trial of 26/11 case in a
Rawalpindi court against seven Pakistani suspects, including
Lashker-e-Taiba `commander` Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, into
further uncertainty.
When Home Minister P Chidambaram visited Islamabad in
June 2010, Malik had conveyed to him that India would not be
"disappointed" on Islamabad`s response to New Delhi`s demands
related to the 26/11 attack case, including handing over of
voice samples of the handlers of the attackers who killed 166
people in Mumbai.
A year later in July 2011, Malik declared that Pakistani
law does not allow recording of voice samples of anyone.
On the sidelines of the SAARC Interior Ministers`
conference in Thimpu last July, Chidambaram and Malik had a
bilateral meeting where the Interior Minister of Pakistan
affirmed that his Ministry was working toward an early visit
of the judicial commission from Pakistan to India.
He expressed the hope that the visit would take place at
an early date. So far, there is little movement on it.
The trial in the Rawalpindi court also has been going on
at a snail`s pace. Curiously, four judges have been changed
ever since the trial began in Pakistan in early 2009. Shahid
Rafique is the fifth judge hearing the case.
The commission was announced by Pakistan in response to a
directive from the anti-terrorism court that is conducting the
trial of seven Pakistani suspects, including Lakhvi.
Pakistan`s contention is that the charges against the LeT
operatives, lodged in a jail there, were based on Kasab`s
statement in Mumbai and, hence, it was necessary to submit the
magistrate`s and the investigating officer`s statements to the
anti-terror court.
PTI
