Islamabad: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Saturday asked India to provide access to Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist arrested for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, to facilitate the trial in Pakistan of seven suspects charged with involvement in the carnage.
Malik raised the issue during a meeting with Indian High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal, saying a Pakistani court had issued an arrest warrant for Kasab and Islamabad will request New Delhi to hand him over to Pakistan.
"Kasab's statement is of paramount importance in the Mumbai attacks case as it is an important (piece of evidence) and our courts need it," Malik told the media after the meeting.
"Pakistan will request India to allow the two magistrates and Chief Investigation Officer of Mumbai CID to appear in a Pakistani court and testify that they recorded the confessional statement of Kasab so that authorities could proceed further," he added.
The trial in Pakistan is moving in the right direction and the presence of these three Indian officers would make it stronger, he said.
"They must come to Pakistan to make the case stronger. We are hopeful that (India) would consider our request for justice," he said.
The interior ministry will hand over the request for the presence of the Indian officers to the Foreign Office in the next few days so that it could be formally conveyed to India, Malik said.
Official sources said that Malik told the Indian envoy that Pakistani prosecutors would need to have access to Kasab once he was declared a "proclaimed offender" or fugitive by the country's courts.
The sources quoted Malik as saying that once Kasab was declared a fugitive, he would become part of the trial being conducted by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court.
Malik was quoted by the sources as saying that Pakistan wanted India to grant access to Kasab once his trial by a special court in Mumbai was completed.
Such a move would strengthen the prosecution's efforts to bring to justice the suspects detained by Pakistani authorities, including Lashker-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the sources said.
The special court in Mumbai is scheduled to deliver its verdict against Kasab and two Indians for their alleged role in the Mumbai attacks on May 3.
The sources said Malik and the Indian envoy also discussed New Delhi's demand for action against
Jamaat-ud-Dawah founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed. Malik briefed Sabharwal on the steps taken by Pakistani authorities against the JuD.
Malik remarked that Pakistan is keeping a close watch on Saeed and the JuD but ruled out any action till the authorities could build a solid case against the founder of the LeT, the sources said.
Malik told the media that Saeed was released after a court granted him bail "because India provided only leads regarding him and not evidences."
He added, "We have moved the Supreme Court over the release of Hafiz Saeed and whatever the decision would be, we will follow it."
"We have frozen 16 bank accounts of Jamaat-ud-Dawah, blocked six websites, cancelled all arms licenses issued to the outfit, detained 71 activists, placed the names of 64 activists on the Exit Control List, put over 63 madrassas of the JuD under government control and confiscated all its publications and papers," he claimed.
Malik said India had so far provided 10 dossiers related to the Mumbai attacks and Pakistan had responded to all of them.
Pakistan's 11th dossier regarding the handing over of Kasab would be handed over to New Delhi shortly, he added.
He also said that meetings between the two countries regarding the Mumbai attacks case were positive and their cooperation was expanding.
India had provided "maximum details" regarding the case as requested by Pakistani authorities and this information was presented in court, he said.
India and Pakistan understand that terrorism is a heinous crime and anti-state elements are involved in attempts to provoke a confrontation between the two countries, Malik said.
"Anti-state elements brought Pakistan and India to the verge of war but the leadership of the two countries averted war through their wisdom," he added.
A Rawalpindi-based anti-terror court is currently conducting the trial of seven suspects, including LeT commander Lakhvi, who have been charged with planning and facilitating the Mumbai attacks.
The prosecution has filed a petition in the Lahore High Court asking for Kasab to be declared a fugitive so that his confession can be used in the anti-terror court.