Trial of five Mumbai attacks accused to get underway soon: Pak

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, July 11 (PTI) Pakistan Saturday said trial
of the five accused in the Mumbai attacks will get underway in
the next few days and that it has identified 12 more suspects,
preparing the ground for next week's meeting in Egypt between
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani
counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani.

"The first step was the investigation, which we have
completed successfully. The second step is trial, which is
going to start in the next few days," Pakistan Interior
Ministry Rehman Malik told a news conference after he shared
the findings of the probe with India's acting High
Commissioner Manpreet Vohra.

Malik said 13 people, including Ajmal Amir Kasab the
lone terrorist captured in India for the Mumbai attacks, had
been declared "proclaimed offenders" by Pakistani authorities.
He handed over a dossier on Pakistan's probe and 15 questions
seeking more information on the attacks to the Indian side.

Federal Investigation Agency chief Tariq Khosa, who
was present at the news conference, said an interim
chargesheet had been filed against the five suspects on April
28 and their trial had commenced.

After getting further information from India,
investigators had prepared a second and updated chargesheet,
he said.

Singh and Gilani are likely to meet on July 16 in
Sharm-el-Sheikh on the sidelines of the Non Aligned Movement
(NAM) Summit after Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon
and his Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir discuss what
Islamabad has done to bring to book perpetrators of November
26 attacks and dismantle terror infrastructure.

Khosa said "the further evidence will be placed before
the court...We are going to make a real professional effort to
get a conviction and that will be the effort of the Pakistan
government."

The trial of the five suspects – LeT operations
commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Zarar Shah, Hamad Amin Sadiq,
Abu al Qama and Shahid Jamil Riaz – is being conducted by an
anti-terror court in Rawalpindi.

The trial has been held up due to the non-availability
of a judge and Malik indicated proceedings would get underway
during the next hearing set for July 18.

Malik said Pakistani investigators had been able to
link Lakhvi, a former close aide of LeT founder Hafiz Mohammad
Saeed, to the Mumbai attacks.

"We have linked him with this matter, and we have not
just (depended) on the statement of Kasab, we have connected
(Lakhvi) with material evidence," he said.

The updated chargesheet accuses Lakhvi of
masterminding the attacks while Zarar Shah alias Abdul Wajid
has been charged for being a facilitator and using his
computer expertise to aid the attackers.

Hamad Amin Sadiq has been charged with facilitating
the transfer of funds and providing hideouts for the
attackers.

Abu al Qama alias Mazhar Iqbal is named as a "handler
and facilitator" in the chargesheet while Shahid Jamil Riaz
has been charged with facilitating the transfer of funds.

Riaz, who was arrested on March 19, also served as a
crew member of the boat Al Fauz that was used by the
attackers, Malik said.

The FIR registered on February 15 by Pakistani
authorities in connection with the Mumbai attacks had named
nine persons, including Kasab. Five of the nine had been
arrested while three others – Abu Hamza, Khafa and Muhammad
Amjad Khan – are at large, the Interior Minister said.

Abu Hamza, Khafa and Muhammad Amjad Khan were included
among the 13 proclaimed offenders. Though Malik told reporters
that the names of all the proclaimed offenders would be shared
with the media, Khosa later said they could not be made
public.

Malik also rejected India's contention that Pakistan
was not serious about the probe into the Mumbai incident and
asked New Delhi to end what he called a "blame game". He said
there had been a delay on India's part in providing
information sought by Pakistan, including Kasab's statement
and DNA samples.

He said Pakistan sought Kasab's statement on February
12 and it was received from India on June 9.

Malik also sought to link the probe into the Mumbai
attacks with India's investigation into the 2007 bombing of
the Samjhauta Express train that killed 68 people, most of
them Pakistanis.

He also questioned why India had not provided
information to Pakistan about Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin
Ahmed, who have been charged in a court in Mumbai.

"We have no doubt in our mind that assistance in India
was provided to these non-state actors and culprits (who
carried out the Mumbai attacks) and we think that...we may
find some involvement (of Indian elements)," he said.

Malik, however, said Pakistani investigator felt there
was no need to question Kasab as his statement made to
authorities in India would be admissible in a Pakistani court.
PTI RHL