Pakistan

Mumbai attack case: Foreign secretary asked to appear in person

He will have to explain the situation around production of Indian witnesses

Our Correspondent December 22, 2016

Kundi said only two cases were registered against Lakhvi across the country. PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) ordered on Wednesday the foreign secretary to appear in person before the court in a matter pertaining to the summoning of the Indian witnesses in the Mumbai attack case.

ATC Judge Sohail Ikram ordered Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry to appear in person and appraise the court about the developments regarding the Indian witnesses in the case on January 4.

When the case was taken up, the director of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Mazhar Kakakhail appeared before the court and sought time to provide details in the case. While accepting his request, the court also directed the foreign secretary to appear in the next hearing.

Meanwhile, the court set January 4 as the date for indictment of suspect Sufyan Zafar after an application challenging jurisdiction of the court in the case was withdrawn.

Previously, the ATC had sought a detailed report from the director general of the South Asian desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the Indian witnesses. The orders had come in response to court’s earlier directions to summon all 24 Indian witnesses in the case before the court in Islamabad.

The prosecution said that the ATC has already completed recording the statements of all Pakistani witnesses in the case and waiting for the Indian witnesses to move the further.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2016.