An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Tuesday rejected the statements of four Indian officials made part of a Judicial Commission report regarding Mumbai attack case. In his order, the ATC Judge, Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rehman, said that all the proceedings and the report of the Pakistani judicial commission that visited Mumbai in March were illegal.
These were not acceptable in Pakistan and could not be used as evidence against seven men arrested in Pakistan in connection with Mumbai attacks, the judge announced the verdict while accepting the objections raised by Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and other detained accused after the Indian authorities did not allow their lawyers to cross examine four prosecution witnesses in India.
The court said that the commission was not only barred from cross-examining, but access to four witnesses was also not granted. 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 of the attackers and their victims. Indian officials had said that a cross examination of witnesses was not allowed.
Chief prosecutor Chaudhry Zulifqar Ali told the court that another commission could be sent to India after ensuring that it would be allowed to cross-examine witnesses. The judge said the Judicial Commission should visit India again after the permission of cross examination if the prosecution wanted to use the statements of Indian witnesses as evidence against the seven accused. The court adjourned hearing till July 21.
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