ID :
72888
Thu, 07/30/2009 - 13:58
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/72888
The shortlink copeid
Pak can't prosecute Saeed for 26/11 sans solid evidence: Khosa
M Zulqernain
Lahore, Jul 29 (PTI) JuD chief and LeT founder Hafiz Mohd
Saeed cannot be prosecuted for involvement in the Mumbai
terror attacks without "concrete evidence" against him,
Pakistan's top law official said on Wednesday.
"The government has the evidence provided by the UN
Security Council that can only keep Saeed behind bars for a
certain period of time under the Maintenance of Public Order
(MPO) law," said Attorney General Latif Khosa, an aide of
President Asif Ali Zardari.
"However, we have no material whatsoever to establish
Saeed's direct or indirect link with the Mumbai carnage,"
Khosa told PTI in an interview.
If Pakistan had any legal proof against Saeed, either
provided by the Indian government or otherwise, he certainly
would have been facing trial along with the other accused in
the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi, he said.
"India wants us to prosecute him for his involvement in
the Mumbai attacks but how could we do so without concrete
evidence? Law demands evidence. Let it be very clear to
everyone that we are not giving any latitude to Saeed or
anyone else," he said.
Saeed has been described as the mastermind of the Mumbai
attacks that killed over 180 people and India has asked
Pakistan to take action against him.
Saeed was detained after the UN Security Council declared
the JuD a terrorist organistaion in December last year but was
freed from house arrest on the orders of the Lahore High Court
on June 2.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik has also made it clear
that the government will not arrest Saeed. He said "solid
evidence" is needed to prosecute Saeed.
Five LeT operatives, including its operations commander
Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and computer expert Zarar Shah, are
currently facing the trail in an anti-terror court in
Rawalpindi in connection with the Mumbai attacks. The next
hearing of the case is scheduled for August 29.
Khosa also sought to dispel the impression that the
Punjab government had withdrawn or indicated its withdrawal
from an appeal filed jointly with the federal government in
the Supreme Court to challenge Saeed's release on the orders
of the High Court.
"There was some sort of misunderstanding at some level
but it has been sorted out," he said.
When his attention was drawn to the statement by Punjab
Law Minister Rana Sanaullah that the federal government was
not "assisting" the province in the case by providing evidence
against Saeed, Khosa questioned how this could be possible in
a case where the centre, which was already vulnerably placed,
would not extend cooperation to the provincial authorities.
PTI
Lahore, Jul 29 (PTI) JuD chief and LeT founder Hafiz Mohd
Saeed cannot be prosecuted for involvement in the Mumbai
terror attacks without "concrete evidence" against him,
Pakistan's top law official said on Wednesday.
"The government has the evidence provided by the UN
Security Council that can only keep Saeed behind bars for a
certain period of time under the Maintenance of Public Order
(MPO) law," said Attorney General Latif Khosa, an aide of
President Asif Ali Zardari.
"However, we have no material whatsoever to establish
Saeed's direct or indirect link with the Mumbai carnage,"
Khosa told PTI in an interview.
If Pakistan had any legal proof against Saeed, either
provided by the Indian government or otherwise, he certainly
would have been facing trial along with the other accused in
the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi, he said.
"India wants us to prosecute him for his involvement in
the Mumbai attacks but how could we do so without concrete
evidence? Law demands evidence. Let it be very clear to
everyone that we are not giving any latitude to Saeed or
anyone else," he said.
Saeed has been described as the mastermind of the Mumbai
attacks that killed over 180 people and India has asked
Pakistan to take action against him.
Saeed was detained after the UN Security Council declared
the JuD a terrorist organistaion in December last year but was
freed from house arrest on the orders of the Lahore High Court
on June 2.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik has also made it clear
that the government will not arrest Saeed. He said "solid
evidence" is needed to prosecute Saeed.
Five LeT operatives, including its operations commander
Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and computer expert Zarar Shah, are
currently facing the trail in an anti-terror court in
Rawalpindi in connection with the Mumbai attacks. The next
hearing of the case is scheduled for August 29.
Khosa also sought to dispel the impression that the
Punjab government had withdrawn or indicated its withdrawal
from an appeal filed jointly with the federal government in
the Supreme Court to challenge Saeed's release on the orders
of the High Court.
"There was some sort of misunderstanding at some level
but it has been sorted out," he said.
When his attention was drawn to the statement by Punjab
Law Minister Rana Sanaullah that the federal government was
not "assisting" the province in the case by providing evidence
against Saeed, Khosa questioned how this could be possible in
a case where the centre, which was already vulnerably placed,
would not extend cooperation to the provincial authorities.
PTI
