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26/11 attack: indictment of Pakistanis put off

ISLAMABAD: The indictment of five Pakistani suspects in the Mumbai attack, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, earlier expected at a hearing on Saturday by an anti-terror court, was put off to June 6, and the judge in the case has been changed.

Khadim Hussain has been named the new judge in place of Sakhi Mohammed Kahoot, whose contract as an anti-terror judge was apparently not renewed amid a reshuffle in the ranks of district judges.

The anti-terror court in the Mumbai attacks case is held in Adiala prison, where Lakhvi and the other four are being held. Security was recently enhanced at the jail after reports of a possible escape bid by the suspects.

The Special Investigation Unit of the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA), which is handling the investigation, submitted a charge sheet in the case on May 5.

A subsequent hearing on May 12 was adjourned to Saturday, when it was expected that the judge would formally indict the suspects on the basis of the FIA charge sheet.

A defence lawyer for the suspects said it was an “injustice” that the judge had been changed. “When he had started understanding the case, he has been removed. Unfortunately, he will not be the judge at the next hearing. This is a great injustice to my clients,” said Shahbaz Rajput.

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26/11 attack: indictment of Pakistanis put off

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