Pak charges 7, mum on Saeed
Omer Farooq Khan & Indrani Bagchi TNN

Islamabad/New Delhi: On the eve of the first anniversary of the 26/11 terror attacks on Wednesday, Pakistan took a decisive step with an antiterrorism court formally framing charges against Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and six others for masterminding the Mumbai carnage.
The others named include Zarar Shah, as the chief of coordination of the attacks, Abu al-Qama, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younus Anjum. Sixteen others, including Ajmal Amir Kasab, were declared proclaimed offenders. The charges were read to the seven at a special court inside Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail on Wednesday.
Sources in New Delhi said the arraignment was the surest indication of the veracity of evidence provided by India to Pakistan regarding the attacks. However, there remained the question over what happens to LeT founder Hafiz Saeed who, Indian officials allege, is still being insulated by Islamabad against prosecution.
In a dossier given to Pakistan on August 21, India gave a detailed account of Saeed’s role in the Mumbai attack. He has been placed under house arrest a couple of times, but always released by courts, citing lack of evidence.
But Pakistan’s latest actions have failed to impress India. Minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor said Delhi was “concerned’’ that Islamabad was still not taking the steps it had sought on dismantling of the terror infrastructure and cutting off financial help to terrorists. The Face Of Terror
A Pakistan anti-terror court has formally charged seven suspects—Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi (above), Zarar Shah, Abu al-Qama, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younus Anjum—with planning and helping execute the Mumbai attacks. Also, 16 people, including Ajmal Kasab, have been declared proclaimed offenders.
Retd Major held for Headley links
The Pakistan army has arrested a retired Major from Rawalpindi for his alleged links with American terrorists David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana. The Major, who retired two years ago, is being grilled by intelligence officials.P11 Pak’s Lakhvi & co plead not guilty
Islamabad/New Delhi: The seven 26/11 accused who were charged in a Pakistani anti-terror court on Wedesday pleaded not guilty, saying the evidence did not support the charges, defence lawyer Shahbaz Rajput told reporters.
But prosecutors say they are determined to bring convictions and secure the maximum sentence for those in the dock. Court proceedings are taking place behind closed doors with journalists barred from the hearings and defence lawyers leaking only small details. The next hearing is scheduled for December 5, said Rajput.
Wednesday’s developments came a week after India handed Pakistan more information about the carnage, which New Delhi says were abetted by Pakistani “official agencies’’—charges that Islamabad has flatly denied. The latest information India handed over to Pakistan reportedly included statements of key witnesses, including a magistrate and FBI officials, from Ajmal Kasab’s trial.
Detailed statements by Kasab and testimonies have formed part of seven dossiers that India has sent to Pakistan in the past 11 months, the last being on November 17. The MEA informed parliament on Wednesday that “in its dossier of July 11, Pakistan had acknowledged that substantial incriminating evidence had been unearthed which directly connected the five accused LeT operatives under Pak custody’’.
During proceedings in Rawalpindi, lawyers of the accused had demanded Kasab be brought to Pakistan to face trial alongside the other accused.
The 26/11 case now has an added dimension after the arrest of US terrorists David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Rana by the FBI. Investigations are on to determine the links between Headley and the Mumbai attacks. TNN