PAK-MUMBAI 2LST

"It doesn't matter how high profile the trial is,
unless the court doesn't finish all the formalities such as
verifying the evidences produced by the prosecution, it cannot
give a judgement against any one," said Afshan Ghazanfar, a
Supreme Court lawyer.

The trial of the seven suspects is being conducted in
the heavily guarded Adiala Jail for security reasons.The trial
has been mired by controversies and delays since last year.
The judge was changed twice and Lakhvi’s counsel has
filed at least seven petitions seeking his acquittal,
challenging the case prepared by the prosecution team and
asking for the transfer of the trial from Rawalpindi to
Lahore.
The Herald quoted unnamed legal experts as saying
that the reason the defence lawyers were "creating these
interruptions is to buy time for the accused in the hope that
the international interest in Lakhvi’s trial will wane, making
an acquittal easier."
Most of the petitions filed by Lakhvi’s counsel have
been dismissed by courts, including the Lahore High Court.
The report said another reason for the long-drawn
trial is the "inexplicable delay in recording the statements
of 160 witnesses" listed by the defence and prosecution.
It quoted an unnamed lawyer as saying that this is
due to the defence counsel’s "continuous applications that
hinder the normal hearing of the case."
The anti-terror court has so far recorded the
testimony of only two witnesses, including a Federal
Investigation Agency official who deposed before Judge Malik
Muhammad Akram Awan on Saturday. PTI RHL
MYR



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