26/11: Pak judicial panel can't cross-examine Indian witnesses

The Pakistan judicial panel on 26/11, which is in India, has been denied permission to cross-examine the Indian witnesses.

The special court today turned down the request by the Pakistan panel. The court said the hearing will take place according to the directions of the Bombay High Court.

The Indian government had made it clear to Pakistan that the commission is here to only record the statements and not cross-examine the Indian officials. Pakistan's contention is that since charges against the seven accused are based on the lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab's statement in Mumbai, it is necessary to submit critical versions of four people: The policemen who conducted the initial probe and the doctors who performed autopsies on the nine accomplices of Kasab who were killed. The Pakistani team says these statements may help quicken the trial.

India had been pressing for the conviction of the seven men of the banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Pakistani custody, alleging they masterminded the 26/11 attacks, but Pakistan has taken a long time to bring them to trial.

166 people were killed in Mumbai in the attack on November 26, 2008.

Mani Shankar Aiyar confronts 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed on Pak TV show

Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed appeared to lose his cool on a Pakistani TV talk show on Thursday when Indian parliamentarian Mani Shankar Aiyar confronted him and said he should be arrested and brought before a terrorism court. Saeed is the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

While Aiyar was in the studio in Islamabad with another panelist, the host of the show suddenly introduced Saeed on a phone link. Responding to a question from the host, the Lashkar-e-Taiba founder listed his reasons for opposing improved trade relations with India. He also raised objections over the grant of "Most Favoured Nation" status to India.

"Giving India MFN status is not correct in any manner because there are already big problems that haven't been resolved, including the Kashmir issue. At this moment, the dams being made by India will create a crisis in Pakistan," Saeed claimed. He further added that he had "never opposed talks" with India but the neighbouring country "has never seriously tried to resolve problems".

Aiyar, currently on a private visit to Pakistan, responded to this by saying that Saeed was part of a "small group" that opposed better ties with India while ordinary people wanted relations between the two countries to grow.

"There are some persons like Hafiz Saeed in our country who do not want things to move forward but thankfully the ordinary people want our ties to improve. We can improve our relations irrespective of what his (Saeed's) opinion is.