India may allow Pakistan panel to visit, interview 26/11 witnesses

NEW DELHI - A Pakistan panel may be allowed to take statements of key witnesses and other officials, who recorded the statement of the lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab, and the doctors who carried out the postmortem of victims and terrorists.

According to sources, Pakistan will be informed of India’s stand on the issue once the government gets the view of Bombay High Court on it.

Earlier, Pakistan had requested India to allow a commission to visit India for testifying several people investigating the case there.

The request was forwarded to India during a telephonic conversation between Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik and his Indian counterpart P. Chidambaram.

“Malik informed the Home Minister that the court in Pakistan desired that, subject to the consent of Indian authorities, the commission may visit India to testify a magistrate who recorded the statement of Kasab, the investigating officer and post-mortem report of the terrorists killed in the attacks,” the ministry’s spokesman said.

A Mumbai Special Court on May 6 sentenced Kasab to death on four counts.
Judge M L Tahaliyani awarded death sentence for Kasab on-waging war against India, murder, conspiracy to murder, and participating in an act of terror under Unlawful Activity Prevention Act (UAPA).
Judge Tahaliyani felt that Kasab’s crime fell under the judicial definition of ‘rarest of rare’.
Kasab, who is the 52nd prisoner on death row in India, was also awarded life term on five other counts. (ANI)