Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik and his Indian counterpart P. Chidambaram in a telephonic conversation discussed matters relating to security and certain aspects of the ongoing trial of Mumbai blast accused in Pakistan.
Islamabad also urged India to help find a way to progress the trial in Pakistan of seven suspects linked to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which has strained ties between the rivals.
The suspects include the alleged mastermind of the attack on India’s financial capital, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative Zarar Shah.
Delhi and Washington have both the LeT faction for the Mumbai attacks, which left 166 people dead.
The trial has almost stalled as New Delhi has refused to give the court access to lone surviving attacker Mohammad Ajmal Kasab — who is on death row in India — and an Indian Fahim Ansari, a conspirator.
An anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi indicted the seven men on the eve of the first anniversary of the attack, which ended a fragile peace process with Pakistan. But Pakistani officials have since implied that the trials cannot proceed unless Kasab is handed over as a witness.
Kasab, one of 10 gunmen who went on the rampage through Mumbai, was convicted on March 31 on charges including murder and waging war on India. Malik underlined the importance of appearance of the two Indian prosecution witnesses in the court in Pakistan to carry the trial process forward.
Malik informed Chidambaram that the court has not yet decided about the offer of India to allow the witnesses to testify through video conferencing.
He also proposed that, subject to the approval by the court, a commission of relevant officials may be formed to visit India and record the statements of the witnesses. The Indian home minister said that any proposal, when received, would be examined thoroughly.
Malik told reporters after meeting the Indian high commissioner and speaking to Chidambaram: “The trial is stuck and actually we do not want to give an impression to the international community that perhaps it has been delayed.
“We proposed to India while talking to Mr. Chidambaram that how about that we move our case to our trial court and request them to appoint a commission of relevant officials to record the statements of the witnesses,” he said.
“And this has been happening in the past and so using that facility we request to the court and if they give permission, will they (India) be able to accept,” Malik said.
Chidambaram replied that “they will be considering it,” Malik said.
Malik said he underlined the importance to the trial of Kasab and Ansari appearing in court in Pakistan.
— With input from agencies
