Kasab cannot be extradited, he can be tried in India: Pak

ISLAMABAD: Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone Pakistani terrorist captured during the Mumbai attacks, can be tried in India as he had committed a crime in that country, defence minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar said on Saturday.

India could conduct the trial of Kasab according to its own laws, Mukhtar told reporters in the eastern city of Gujrat. Kasab cannot be extradited and he can be tried in India as he had committed a crime there, he said.

The accused who had been detained in Pakistan in connection with the Mumbai attacks will be brought to trial in a Pakistani court, said Mukhtar, a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan People's Party.

Pakistani officials have said that formal charges have been filed in connection with the Mumbai attacks against nine suspects, including Kasab. Six of the other eight suspects have been detained by Pakistani authorities while two are still at large.

A judge has remanded four of the detained suspects to the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency till March 3.

Mukhtar also said that US drones only have permission to land in Pakistan for logistical reasons. All missile attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas were being conducted by drones operating from Afghanistan, he said.

Rejecting reports that the Inter-Services Intelligence agency is backing the Taliban, Mukhtar said Pakistan's armed forces are cooperating with the civilian government.