Mumbai terror attacks: Defence asks court to drop proceedings against Kasab

RAWALPINDI, Feb 26: The leading defence counsel for seven men arrested in connection with the 2008 Mumbai attacks asked the trial court on Saturday to drop proceedings against Ajmal Kasab, sentenced to death in India for the same attacks because, under law, he could not be retried in Pakistan for the same offence. On the other hand, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) insisted in the court that Kasab should be declared a proclaimed offender (PO) and trial be initiated. ATC-III Judge Rana Nisar Ahmed, who has been conducting in camera proceedings in Adiala Jail outside Rawalpindi, said contentions of both sides would be heard on the next date of hearing on March 5. Advocate Khawaja Sultan Ahmed, representing Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of the Nov 26, 2008, attacks in Mumbai, moved an application saying Kasab could not be retried under Article 13 of the Constitution, which says no person can be prosecuted or punished for the same offence more than once. The lawyer said that section 403 of the Criminal Procedure Code also barred retrial of a person once convicted or acquitted for the same offence. Since Kasab was sentenced to death and his conviction had been confirmed by the higher court in India, he could not be retried in Pakistan for the same charges of carrying out attacks, the lawyer argued and pleaded for dropping charges against him. The FIA moved a fresh application before the trial court to get Kasab declared a PO, arguing that only after doing so it could initiate proceedings against the seven arrested accused: Lakhvi, Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Younas Anjum, Jamil Ahmed, Mazhar Iqbal and Abdul Majid. Talking to reporters after the proceedings inside the jail, FIA Public Prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali said the court had to declare Kasab a PO after his arrest warrants were issued in April last year under the procedural laws. He said despite the fact that Kasab was in an Indian jail, the court, under normal procedure, would have to declare him a PO in Pakistan. Talking to Dawn, advocate Shahbaz Ahmed Rajpoot said if the court dropped the case against Kasab, the proceedings against other accused would become irrelevant as Kasab's confessional statement was the only evidence forwarded by the prosecution.