Mumbai attack: Ascertain if India will allow cross-examination,says Pak court

“On getting a reply from the Indian authorities,the court issue further directions,” said Khwaja Haris Ahmed,the for Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.

The judge also summoned two prosecution witnesses to record their statement at the next hearing on July 28,sources said.

The move came against the backdrop of the trial of the accused being virtually stalled since last year for a variety of technical reasons and procedural delays.

Only a handful of the more than 160 prosecution witnesses have testified so far.

At the last hearing on July 17,the court had ruled that all findings of a Pakistani judicial commission that visited India were illegal and could not be made part of the evidence against the accused as the members of the panel were not allowed to cross-examine Indian witnesses. The judge gave his ruling in response to a petition filed by Lakhvi,who had contended that the commission’s report had “no legal value”.

The eight-member commission,which included prosecutors defence lawyers,visited Mumbai in March and interviewed a judge,a senior police officer and two doctors who conducted the autopsies of the terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks.

Indian officials have said that cross-examination of witnesses was not allowed in line with an agreement between New Delhi and Islamabad.

The anti-terrorism court has said that if India and Pakistan can reach some new agreement that will allow the cross-examination of witnesses,the prosecution could move an application to send another commission to Mumbai.

The seven suspects have been charged with planning,financing and executing the terror attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people in November 2008.