Pak SC adjourns Lakhvis hearing

Lakhvis counsel had also asked the apex court to bar the anti-terrorism court and the prosecution from using Kasabs statement against his client because it was recorded by an Indian magistrate.

During a hearing last week,the bench had sought a copy of Kasab8217;s confessional statement as it was linked to an important case in Pakistan.

On receiving a copy of Kasabs 11-page statement,Chief Justice Chaudhry said the bench needed time to go through the document.

The Chief Justice also told Sultan that he should have filed the statement a day ahead of the hearing so that the bench could have studied it.

Sultan said he had tried to file the statement before the hearing but the concerned officer refused to accept it.

In his confessional statement,Kasab had named Lakhvi as the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.

A special court in Mumbai recently convicted Kasab,a Pakistani national,on charges of murder and waging war against India and sentenced him to death.

Lakhvi is being tried with six others by the anti-terror court. Lakhvis counsel earlier told the apex court that his client was declared an accused in the Mumbai attacks case in light of Kasabs statement recorded by an Indian magistrate.

Sultan contended that Kasabs statement was not before any Pakistani court and so Lakhvi could not be named as an accused. Sultan also claimed that the prosecution made no allegation about Lakhvi having any connection with any of his co-accused.