Pak ATC orders cross examination of Mumbai attack witnesses

Pakistan's anti-terrorism court (ATC) has reportedly directed the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) to send panel of lawyers to India in order to cross examine four witnesses of the Mumbai attacks.

According to the Dawn, the application was filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) which has also requested the court for directions to the federal government for making coordination with the Indian authorities to ensure the security of Pakistani lawyers during their stay.

Special prosecutor Mohammad Azhar Chaudhry said that the recent attacks on the Pakistani High Commission in India and on the friendship bus carrying Pakistani passengers to India highlighted the necessity for the Pakistani government to take up the matter of security of lawyers.

The report said that the Pakistani panel would cross-examine four Indian witnesses namely Magistrate R.V. Sawant Waghule, who recorded the confessional statement of Ajmal Kasab; Ramesh Mahale, chief investigating officer of the case; and Ganesh Dhunraj and Chintaman Mohite, the two doctors who carried out the post-mortem of the slain assailants.

The ATC in July 2012 declared the proceedings of Mumbai commission illegal after the defence counsels pointed out that S.S. Shinde, the presiding officer of the Mumbai commission, did not allow the cross examining of the Indian witnesses.

However, the chief justice of the Mumbai High Court (MHC) has designated a Mumbai Metropolitan judge as presiding officer for commission and the Indian authorities have assured Pakistan for cross examining on the witnesses of the Mumbai attacks, the report added.