Islamabad:
More than three years after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, a Pakistani judicial commission probing the attacks will travel to India in next month. The panel will be in Mumbai from February 3-6.
Last week, the Bombay High Court had given its consent to the Pakistani judicial commission to interview key persons linked to the probe of the Mumbai attacks. The High Court had informed the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that an in-principle approval for the Pakistani judicial commission's visit has been given.
The decision to finalise the dates was reportedly taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik. Speaking to NDTV in Islamabad, the minister confirmed that necessary arrangements were being made for the judicial commission's travel to India from February 3-6.
(Watch: Pak panel would like to question Kasab, says Rehman Malik)"It has been enough waiting. Both India and Pakistan have been working hard because both have to abide by certain rules and regulations and respective constitutions and legal ways have to be adopted. We tried our best to send the commission earlier. There were certain issues with the legal fraternity in India and similarly we had some problems here. Thank god, court allowed us after multiple hearings and I am grateful to authorities for giving a yes for sending the commission. It has been given permission to visit India from February 2 to February 8. We have asked for necessary arrangements to be made for the travel of the judicial commission from February 3 to February 6.
According to the minister, apart from meeting the metropolitan magistrate and investigators looking into the attacks, the Pakistani commission will also seeks to question Ajmal Kasab - the only terrorist caught alive in November 2008.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate R V Sawant Waghule and Investigating Officer Ramesh Mahale had recorded Kasab's statement. Meeting them would help the Pakistani commission pursue the case back home.
Kasab was sentenced to death by the Bombay High Court in February last year. He has appealed against this in the Supreme Court.
The commission has also requested for access to medical reports and forensic analysis related to the 26/11 attacks. Earlier reports said the commission also wanted to record the statements of the two doctors who carried out the post-mortem of the terrorists killed during the attack.
The delegation will include Khalid Qureshi, the head of the Federal Investigation Agency's Special Investigation Group along with Muhammad Azhar Chaudhry and Chaudhry Zulifqar, the two main prosecutors.
(With PTI inputs)