Judicial visit to Mumbai illegal: Pak Court; India to ask Islamabad to act

NEW DELHI: India plans to ask Islamabad what action it would take on the 26/11 terror attacks. This follows the ruling of a Rawalpindi court in Pakistan on Tuesday that findings of a Pakistani judicial commission that visited Mumbai were illegal and could not be made part of the evidence against accused in the 26/11 case.

India feels evidence collected by the commission had 'evidential value' to punish those involved in the worst terrorist attack on the country. "Our belief is that the evidence collected by the commission is of evidential value," home secretary RK Singh told reporters here.

The Rawalpindi court is hearing the terror case against seven accused, including Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.

Singh said New Delhi would seek a copy of the court ruling from Pakistan. "After we go through the judgement, we will discuss with the Pakistan government as to what they propose to do about it," he said.

The eight-member commission, which included prosecutors and defence lawyers, visited Mumbai and interviewed a judge, a senior police officer and two doctors who conducted the autopsies on the terrorists bodies involved in the attacks and their victims.

The lawyers defending the accused had opposed the commission's report, saying it had no legal value as the panel was not allowed to cross-examine witnesses during its visit to Mumbai. However, Indian officials said that cross-examination of the witnesses was not allowed following an agreement between New Delhi and Islamabad.

The November 26, 2008, Mumbai carnage by 10 Pakistani terrorists had left 166 people dead. Nine of the terrorists were killed by the security forces while the only one nabbed, Ajmal Kasab, is lodged in a Mumbai jail facing a death sentence. The Opposition slammed Pakistan government over its intentions of bringing the guilty to book.

BJP asked if the Pak government was serious about giving justice to the 2008 Mumbai terror attack victims. "We have come to know that a court in Pakistan has called the Pakistani judicial committee which came to investigate the 26/11 related matters as illegal. Apparently the court has said that the report that this eight member judicial committee submitted is illegal," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said. "It also said that report will not be read as evidence in the trials which are being done on the 26/11 terror related matters. Is Pakistan serious at all in handling this 26/11 related matter?" she said.