Pakistani court adjourns Mumbai attacks case till Jan 29

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court hearing the case of seven men, including LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, charged with involvement in the Mumbai attacks has adjourned the hearing till January 29.

According to court sources, a banker of Muslim Commercial Bank Gujranwala district, some 80 km from Lahore, testified in the Islamabad anti-terrorism court yesterday declaring that one of the accused had made transactions.

The Defence lawyers questioned how could it be established that a certain amount of money transacted by the alleged accused was used for terror activities.

The court adjourned the hearing till January 29 and issued summons for more private witnesses.

Seven accused are facing trial in connection with the Mumbai attacks case.

LeT operations commander Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younas Anjum were arrested in 2009 for their alleged role in the attacks in which 166 people were killed and over 300 injured.

They have been charged with planning, financing and executing the attacks.

The trial is taking place at a slow pace and is one of the main bones of contention in resumption of full-fledged dialogue process.

Pakistan has acknowledged that the conspiracy behind the attacks was hatched on its soil.

LeT operative Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving attacker, has been hanged by India. New Delhi has demanded that Islamabad should expedite the trial of the seven suspects to show that it is serious about countering terrorism.