Islamabad: A Pakistani court conducting
the trial of seven suspects, including Lashker-e-Taiba
commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, charged with planning and
facilitating the Mumbai attacks on Monday scheduled the next
hearing of the case for March 6.
Sources said today’s hearing was a mere formality as
the last hearing, scheduled for February 27, was not held as
it coincided with the holiday marking Prophet Muhammad’s
birth.
"The judge scheduled the next hearing for March 6,"
Shahbaz Rajput, a lawyer representing some of the accused,
told agency.
Sources said the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi
also issued notices asking some prosecution witnesses to be
present at the next hearing.
The trial is being conducted by judge Malik Muhammad
Akram Awan within the heavily guarded Adiala Jail for security
reasons.
The seven accused ? Lakhvi, Zarar Shah, Abu al-Qama,
Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younas
Anjum ? are being held in the same prison.
They were last year formally charged with planning
and helping execute the assault on India's financial hub in
November 2008 that killed nearly 166 people.
PTI
First Published: Monday, March 01, 2010, 14:29