The government seems willing to give access to a judicial commission from Pakistan to visit India and examine witnesses associated with the interrogation of Ajmal Kasab, the lone 26/11 terror attack convict, now in Arthur Road Central jail in Mumbai.
?They (Pakistan) want to examine two witnesses… A Commission is a well-known mechanism to examine witnesses,? said a government source, indicating India?s willingness to consider the proposal favourably. The government has now asked the Pakistan interior ministry to send a formal proposal.
Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik had recently told reporters he proposed sending a commission to India to quiz an Indian police official and a magistrate who had interrogated and recorded Kasab?s statement.
To this, India had suggested that the witnesses can be interrogated through video conferencing.
?But, they said, the laws there (in Pakistan) do not allow for examining witnesses through video conferencing,? the source said. ?Then, they (Pakistan) asked if they can send a commission,? the source added.
Islamabad believes that allowing the commission to visit India to examine witnesses will significantly add to the progress in its probe on the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. An anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi is currently trying seven suspects including LeT?s Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi named by India as those connected with the attacks. India had initially turned down Islamabad?s request to fly Kasab to Pakistan to testify before the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi.
The court has already named Kasab a proclaimed offender but asked the ministry to ensure availability of the two Indian officials connected with Kasab?s interrogation. The court is likely to hear the case again on September 18. India will await a formal proposal from Islamabad on the commission and hopefully respond by then.