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India 'open' to allowing Pak panel to cross-examine 26/11 witnesses
Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Jul 18, 2012, 02.48AM IST
NEW DELHI: A Pakistani court's decision rejecting findings of an inquiry commission, which visited India in March in connection with 26\11 probe, on Tuesday saw an upset New Delhi to consider whether the panel be given a second chance, allowing it to cross-examine witnesses in Mumbai.
Indian officials indicated New Delhi is open to the idea, although it was up to Pakistan to come out formally on the next course of action after a court held that panel's report cannot be considered as witnesses in India were not cross- examined.
Though the eight-member Pakistani panel, comprising defence lawyers and prosecutors, had pitched for cross-examining four witnesses when it visited Mumbai in March, Indian authorities refused permission saying this was not part of the agreement between the two nations.
The visiting panel had recorded statements of the witnesses — additional chief metropolitan magistrate R V Sawant Waghule, investigating officer (IO) Ramesh Mahale and two doctors who conducted post-mortem of the victims and nine Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists killed during the Mumbai carnage.
It is unclear why India did not insist on a 'cross-examination' clause earlier knowing fully well Islamabad's attempts to dodge a serious probe. Officials admitted New Delhi failed to anticipate that the panel's visit could be held infructuous for not having cross-examined witnesses.
The Pakistani Commission submitted its report to an anti-terrorist court trying seven Mumbai attack accused, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Zarar Shah and others, for masterminding the carnage.
Unhappy over the Pakistani court's ruling that the report of the panel has "no legal value" as it did not cross-examine witnesses in Mumbai, Indian home secretary R K Singh said, "Our belief is that the evidence collected by the Commission is of evidential value". He said New Delhi would seek a copy of the court ruling.
"After we go through the judgment, we will discuss with the Pakistan government as to what they propose to do about it," Singh said. The home secretary, however, did not elaborate, saying it would be premature to anticipate anything at this juncture.
The decision to send the Pakistani Commission to India was first taken during the home secretary-level talks between the two countries here in March, 2011. Islamabad, however, took one year to send its panel after delays due to several not very convincing reasons.
A section within the home ministry believes had Pakistan raised the issue of cross-examination when the agreement was being drafted, India would have agreed for it under provisions of the CrPC. Section 290 (Execution of Foreign Commission) has a specific provision allowing such a panel "examination of witnesses in relation to criminal matters".
Even Pakistani law has similar provisions. "Not raising the issue at the stage of agreement might be a part of Pakistan's delaying tactics on 26\11 trial which has been lingering on without any success for the last over three years," said an official. The 26\11 terror attack by 10 Pakistani Lashkar terrorists left 166 people dead in November, 2008.
Nine of the terrorists were killed by security forces, while Ajmal Kasab was the lone gunman, who was nabbed and is lodged in a Mumbai jail. Pakistan arrested seven LeT terrorists following international pressure.
Islamabad had contended that charges against the LeT operatives, including Lakhvi, Shah and others — lodged in a jail in that country — were based on Kasab's statement in Mumbai. This was why it was necessary to submit the magistrate's and the investigating officer's statements to the anti-terror court........................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDEyLzA3LzE4I0FyMDEyMDA=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
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