Lahore: Pakistani authorities have no plans
to seek the extradition of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone
surviving Mumbai attacker arrested in India, an anti-terror
court conducting the trial of seven accused has been informed.
The prosecution counsel told the anti-terror court in
Rawalpindi today that "the government of Pakistan has neither
requested India for Kasab's extradition nor does it have any
such plan to so," defence lawyer Khwaja Sultan told today.
Sultan, a Lahore-based veteran lawyer who is representing
Lashker-e-Taiba operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, had
demanded that Pakistan should seek Kasab's extradition as his
confessional statement to Indian authorities was a major part
of the case built by Pakistani investigators.
During today's hearing, the anti-terrorism court formally
charged Lakhvi and six other suspects for planning and helping
execute the attacks in Mumbai that killed nearly 180 people.
The court also separated the case of Kasab from the seven
other accused.
However, Sultan claimed the court had applied "wrong
sections" of the law to separate Kasab's case from that of the
other suspects.
He said the defence will approach the High Court to
challenge the separation of Kasab's case and the framing of
the chargesheet against the accused on "weak grounds".
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, November 25, 2009, 23:13