Pak court defers indictment of 26/11 accused til May 23

A Pakistani court deferred till May 23 the indictment of five LeT operatives,including the terror group's operations chief Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.

A Pakistani court deferred till May 23 the indictment of five LeT operatives,including the terror group’s operations chief Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi,in connection with the Mumbai attacks as their advocate did not appear before it in view of a countrywide strike by lawyers.

The five suspects – Lakhvi,Zarar Shah,Hamad Amin Sadiq,Abu al Qama and Shahid Jameel Riaz – were produced before anti-terror court judge Sakhi Muhammad Kahut,who is hearing the case in the high-security Adiala Jail in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

The matter was deferred till May 23 after the counsel for the five suspects did not appear in court in view of the nationwide strike by lawyers.

Kahut also issued a notice to the counsel for the suspects in connection with the Federal Investigation Agency’s application that the proceedings should be held in-camera due to the sensitivity of the case.

Shahbaz Rajput,the lawyer representing the five suspects,said that he did not go to the court because of the nationwide strike being observed by lawyers to protest against violence that erupted in Karachi on this day in 2007 when then deposed Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry travelled to the port city. It was earlier expected that Judge Kahut would formally indict the suspects on Tuesday

The FIA had on May 5 submitted the “challan” or chargesheet along with evidence against the suspects to Judge Kahut.

Lakhvi,the operations commander of the LeT,was arrested during a raid by the army near Muzaffarabad,the capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,in December last year. India has accused him of masterminding the Mumbai attacks that killed over 180 people.

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Authorities have framed charges against the five suspects under the Anti-Terrorism Act,Pakistan Penal Code and a cyber crimes law.

Security at the Adiala Jail was recently tightened with the deployment of 300 additional personnel and installation of anti-aircraft guns following reports that militants could attempt a jailbreak to free Lakhvi and other suspects.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik had last month confirmed the arrest of a sixth suspect in connection with the Mumbai attacks but his identity has not been disclosed so far.