The government seems willing to give access to a judicial commission from Pakistan to visit India and examine witnesses associated with the interrogation of Ajmal Kasab,the 26/11 terror attack convict,now in Arthur Road jail in Mumbai. They (Pakistan) want to examine two witnesses. A Commission is a well-known mechanism to examine witnesses, said a government source,indicating Indias willingness to consider the proposal favourably. The government has now asked the Pakistan interior ministry to send a formal proposal. Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik recently told reporters in Islamabad that he had proposed sending a judicial commission to India to quiz an Indian police official and a magistrate who had interrogated and recorded Kasabs statement. To this,India had suggested that the witnesses can be interrogated through video conferencing. But,they said,the laws there (in Pakistan) do not allow for examining witnesses through video conferencing, the source said. Then,they (Pakistan) asked if they can send a commission, the source added. Islamabad believes that allowing the commission to visit India to examine witnesses will significantly add to the progress in its 26/11 probe. An anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi is currently trying seven suspects including the Lashkar-e-Toibas Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi,named by India as being connected with the attacks. India had initially turned down Islamabads request to fly Kasab to Pakistan to testify before the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi. The Pakistan court has already named Kasab a proclaimed offender but asked the Interior Ministry to ensure availability of the two Indian officials connected with the terrorists interrogation. The court is likely to hear the case again on September 18.
