Hand us 26/11 boat,gunmen rucksacks: Pak now to India

Pakistan has,on its part,clarified that the three-member judicial commission would comprise a lawyer each from the prosecution and defence as well as a coordinator who could be a government or court official.

It has made it clear that the commission will not be cross-examining Indian officials but will only authenticate their statements and findings as conveyed earlier by India.

The diplomatic note mentions three officials to whom the commission wants access Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate R V Sawant Waghule,Investigating Officer Ramesh Mahale who recorded Ajmal Kasabs statement and the doctor who carried out the post-mortem.

In response to queries by India about the legal basis of forming such a commission,Pakistan has cited Section 503 of its Code of Criminal Procedure which allows for alternate means if the witness cannot be produced before a court. It has also made reference to Pakistans Qanoon-e-Shahadat that upholds the right of the accused to maintain silence and puts the onus of proof on the prosecution.

The note on the judicial commission,sources said,is separate from the dossier. Both were handed to the Indian Deputy High Commissioner over the weekend. India will need to respond soon on the judicial commission because the Pakistan court is said to have posted the hearing,as of now,to November 13. The judge had made it clear in the last hearing that the government must come with a written response from India the next time the court meets.

The dossier also rakes up the Fahim Ansari case and has asked India for more details. Following the revelations by David Coleman Headley,the charges on Ansari have weakened. While the court has acquitted him,India has told Pakistan that the state still plans to go in appeal.