Zeenews Bureau
Islamabad: The Pakistani anti-terror court conducting the trial of
26/11 Mumbai attacks suspects ruled as illegal a report of a commission that went to India.
Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rehman, the judge of the Rawalpindi- based anti-terrorism court no. 1, Tuesday, said the report of commission that visited India will not be made part of evidence against Mumbai attacks accused standing trial in Pakistan.
The court order came on a petition filed by LeT commander and 26/11 mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi challenging the judicial panel report on the 2008 attack. Seven suspects, including Lakhvi, have been charged with planning, financing and executing the terror attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people in November 2008.
Lakhvi had claimed in his application that the report of the Pakistani judicial commission should not be made part of the case as it has "no legal value".
Lakhvi`s counsel Khwaja Haris Ahmed objected to the agreement between India and Pakistan on the judicial commission`s visit to Mumbai as it did not allow the cross-examination of witnesses.
"The commission was not allowed to cross-examine witnesses, making the whole exercise useless. The report has no legal value and therefore it should be ignored and not made part of the case," Ahmed said.
The eight-member commission, which included prosecutors and defence lawyers, visited Mumbai earlier this year and interviewed a judge, a senior police officer and two doctors who conducted the autopsies of the terrorists involved in the attacks and their victims.
