Pakistani team to question Mumbai attack witnesses

A Pakistani eight-member delegation will visit India next week to cross-examine the witnesses in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, a media report said Sunday.

The delegation will comprise Pakistani prosecution and defence lawyers, the Dawn newspaper reported citing a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) prosecutor.

Mohammad Azhar Chaudhry, FIA's special prosecutor, said the Indian government had issued a schedule for recording statements and cross-examining the four witnesses - R.V. Sawant Waghule, the person who recorded the confessional statement of Ajmal Kasab, chief investigation officer Ramesh Mahale, and Ganesh Dhunraj and Chintaman Mohite, the doctors who carried out the post-mortem examination of the terrorists killed during the attack.

The Indian authorities had asked the Pakistani delegation to reach Mumbai by Sep 5-6, but due to non-availability of flights it has been decided that the panel would leave Sep 7, the Dawn report said.

The Pakistani panel will comprise lead defence counsel Khawaja Haris Ahmed, Riaz Akram Cheema, Khizer Hayat, Raja Ehsanullah Satti, FIA special prosecutor Chaudhry Mohammad Azhar, Syed Husnain Abuzar Pirzada, FIA deputy director Faqir Mohammad and court official Abdul Hameed.

Riaz Cheema, one of the defence counsel, said the cross-examination of the Indian witnesses would help the Pakistani authorities to investigate the seven Pakistani suspects who had allegedly facilitated the Mumbai attack.

He also said the panel would return to Pakistan by Sep 14.