Pak`s 26/11 trial adjourned for a week;lawyers boycott hearing

Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Jan 23 (PTI) A Pakistani anti-terror court
conducting the trial of LeT's operations chief Zakiur Rehman
Lakhvi and six others for involvement in the Mumbai attacks
Saturday adjourned the hearing for a week after defence
lawyers boycotted the proceedings complaining of lack of
security for them.
Shahbaz Rajput, one of the defence lawyers, told PTI that
they had boycotted the hearing because the anti-terror court
in Rawalpindi had not implemented the Lahore High Court's
ruling that the counsels should be provided adequate security.
"When we reached the anti-terrorism court today, we found
no arrangement had been made for our security and for
consultations with our clients as was directed by the Lahore
High Court," said Rajput.
The court has scheduled the next hearing for January 30.
While dismissing Lakhvi's petition for transferring the
case against him from Rawalpindi to Lahore due to a purported
threat to his life, the Lahore High Court had Friday directed
authorities to provide adequate security to the accused and
their counsels.
The High Court had earlier directed authorities in
Rawalpindi's Adiala jail, where the accused are being held and
the trial conducted, to make arrangements for the suspects to
hold consultations with their lawyers.
The seven accused – Lakhvi, Zarar Shah, Abu al-Qama,
Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younas
Anjum – were last year formally charged with planning and
helping execute the attacks that rocked India's commercial
hub Mumbai last year claiming more than 160 lives. PTI