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Mumbai attacks case: Defence lawyer Cheema steps down

He was defending Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and two others accused of masterminding the 2008 attacks.

Our Correspondent November 24, 2013

PHOTO: AFP/FILE

ISLAMABAD:

One of the members of a team of defence lawyers in the Mumbai attacks case, Advocate Riaz Akram Cheema, dissociated himself from the case on Saturday.

He was defending Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and two others accused of masterminding the 2008 attacks in India’s financial capital that killed over 150 people.

Cheema told The Express Tribune that he has decided to give more time to his ailing mother. “The case is near conclusion. The major work has been done,” said Cheema. His colleague, Rizwan Abbasi, is now pursuing the case.

However, the lawyer said he would be available to help the defence lawyers. Cheema was confident that his ‘clients’ would soon be out of Adiala Jail as the prosecution had no incriminating evidence against them.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 24^th, 2013.

COMMENTS (4)

netizen | 10 years ago | Reply

It took a while to Knew that 'Samjhota Express' fire was an inside job done by RSS, India, in connivance with a serving colonel. It took a while to knew that parliament attacks blamed on Pakistan was actually a false flag operation.

And it will take a while to fully establish and come to the conclusion that Mumbai attack was a well orchestrated false flag operation done to make anti terrorist laws, more meaningful and strict.

It also took a while to knew that the WMD's(weapons of mass destruction), the pretext at which US started the Iraq war was all true lies. Everyone is waiting for the 'Obama gets Osama' story to unfold and what is the truth behind the war trophy. Some of it is already out thanks to 'Seymour Hersh'. But truth will come out and will prevail.

Stellar | 10 years ago | Reply

All covert operations also called false flag operations are used as a fourth generation war(media included), world over. So what the hoopla if India did it to make stringent POTA(prevention of terrorist activities) laws. It is India’s prerogative to kill its own people in order to protect the national interest…nothing unpatriotic about it.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/579244/mumbai-attacks-what-is-the-truth/

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Neha | 10 years ago | Reply The entire trial of the 26/11-attacks-accused-persons in Pakistan is an eye-wash and a farce. The drama of trials was done to try to ease off the intense pressure on Pakistan from the world community, and Pakistan staged this drama of a trial extremely reluctantly. Dozens of Judges have been transferred during the last five years. The Public Prosecutor lawyer has been gunned down. Though India gave truck-loads of evidence, the main evidence of several hours of the taped conversations between the Pakistani handlers from the Karachi-Control-Room and the terrorists, can not be used in the trial because Pakistan refuses to provide the voice samples of the accused to Indian Government. The entire attacks were conceived, planned, organized & monitored in and from Pakistan and all accused are Pakistanis. The Pakistani Police were pressurized by the Pakistani Security Establishment not to investigate the case properly and not to collect evidence available in Pakistan. Systematic efforts were made to destroy the evidence in Pakistan. Nothing will come out of the trial, as the judgment is a foregone conclusion.

Raj - USA | 10 years ago | Reply Engineered move to find a reason to put off court proceedings. Nothing more than this. Whatever Pakistan may do, it will not save either from its Pakistan's culpable complicity or conviction of the terrorists.

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