Pak says no to Indian investigators: Report

Government sources here,however,said nothing had come from the Pakistan side so far. Sources also said that in response to some clarifications sought by Pakistan on the subject,India had sent a detailed communique on March 3.

Pakistan’s decision could cast a shadow over the meeting of the Home Secretaries of both countries here on March 28-29,being held to resume the stalled dialogue process.

On March 1,Chidambaram had told reporters,“We have agreed that they should come to India to record the evidence (about the Mumbai attack). But we have also sent them a request asking them if they would agree to a team from India to question the people who are suspects. In principle,we have agreed to allow a Pakistani investigating officer,a magistrate and a doctor to study post-mortem reports (of nine Pakistani terrorists killed in Mumbai).”

According to reports,Pakistan has sent a letter to India,declining India’s request for permission to send an inquiry commission to interrogate Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Lakhvi and six other suspects,citing absence of any law under which such a request could be accepted.

“There is no law under which we could allow the Indian investigators to grill the seven accused,who are already in judicial custody,” the Dawn quoted a senior unnamed Interior Ministry official as saying.

Sources said Islamabad has also pointed out that since there was no Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between the two countries,the Indian request could not be accepted.

Last month,India had sent an official letter expressing its willingness to allow a Pakistani commission to visit India to interview key officials linked with the 26/11 probe.

In the same letter,it had asked Pakistan to allow its team to visit Islamabad to interrogate Lakhvi,Hammad Amin Sadiq,Mazhar Iqbal alias Abu Al-Qama,Abdul Wajid alias Zarar Shah,Mohammad Younas Anjum,Shahid Jameel Riaz and Jamil Ahmed,all of who are in judicial custody and are currently being held in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.

Pakistan had sometime back written to India,saying its officers be allowed to record statements of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate R V Sawant Waghule and investigating officer Ramesh Mahale in the 26/11 case. The Pakistan letter had also said unless its request was accepted,the main accused in the case,Lakhvi,could get relief from court.

India is also planning to raise the issue of allowing access to a team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) at the Home Secretary-level talks.

(With agency inputs)