NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: An Indian prosecutor pressing charges against the sole surviving gunman of last year’s militant attacks on Mumbai that left 166 dead said on Sunday the trial could end within a week.
Mohammed Ajmal Qasab is charged with being one of 10 gunmen who stormed Mumbai last November. “Only 35 (of 331) witnesses remain to be examined either personally or through their affidavits,” Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the Press Trust of India news agency. “The trial is expected to end within a week.”
Qasab, who faces 86 charges, told the court in July that he was ready to accept the death penalty.
Nikam’s statement came less than a week after trial judge M.L. Tahaliyani sacked Qasab’s state-appointed lawyer, Abbas Kazmi, accusing him of wasting time and failing to cooperate with the court. The defense lawyer had argued for days over a technicality relating to the filing of affidavits and recording of evidence.
In a related development, a defense lawyer says the trial of seven Pakistanis accused in the Mumbai attacks has been postponed by a week.
Shahbaz Rajput says the court adjourned Saturday’s session after the defense failed to appear as part of a strike to show solidarity with the victims of a deadly bombing the day before near Islamabad. Rajput says the prosecution will now give opening statements on Dec. 12.
The defendants have been charged with planning and helping to execute the Nov. 26, 2008, rampage on the Indian financial center. It was Pakistan’s first indictment in the case, which is being monitored by India and the United States to see if Islamabad makes good on promises to bring those responsible to justice.
