Mumbai attack hearing on Sept 5; another suspect held

Pakistani authorities have arrested another suspect in the Mumbai terror attack case even as the anti-terror court conducting the trial of five accused LeT operatives today adjourned the hearing till September 5.

Sources said a newly-arrested suspect, identified as Yunus, was produced in the court today by the Federal Investigation Agency, which is probing the attacks. The judge remanded Yunus to police custody for 10 days.

Shahbaz Rajput, a lawyer representing some of the accused, said Judge Baqir Ali Rana had adjourned the case till September 5 for completion of certain legal formalities.

Jamil Ahmed, another LeT-linked suspect who was arrested earlier this month for allegedly facilitating the Mumbai attacks, was also produced in the court.

The judge ordered the FIA to submit his complete records. Ahmed's petition for bail was put off by the court till September 1, sources said.

The five LeT operatives being tried by the anti-terrorism court are operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, communications expert Zarar Shah, Abu al-Qama, Hamad Amin Sadiq and Shahid Jamil Riaz.

Journalists are barred from being present during the proceedings and a blackout created confusion this morning. Earlier reports had said the hearing was adjourned till September 1.

The accused have been charged under the Pakistan Penal Code, the Anti-Terrorism Act and a cyber crimes law. They have been accused of providing training, financial support, accommodation, equipment and communications gear to the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai in November last year.

Earlier, Judge Rana, who is conducting the trial in the high-security Adiala Jail in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, ordered a blackout of the media coverage of the proceedings, citing national security concerns.

Though the order itself was not made public, sources told PTI it stated that the proceedings would be kept totally secret and “not published” in any manner as the case had implications for national security and national interests.

The order said the media blackout was also necessary for security of the witnesses and the judge.