Pak wants more evidence on Mumbai attacks

Pak. Foreign Affairs spokesperson Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry spoke in response to Mr Obama's call for action

The Pakistan government on Friday said it would need more evidence from the Indian side to move ahead in the Mumbai attacks case. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry told the media that India and Pakistan should to work with each other and not against each other.

In response to questions about U.S. President Barack Obama bringing up the issue of prosecuting those involved in the Mumbai 26, 2008 terror strike in his meeting with the Pakistan Prime Minister, Mr Chaudhry said people cannot be brought to book without a fair trial and that is why more evidence was needed. He did not specify the nature of the evidence that was lacking and where India had fallen short in providing proof. He said the Pakistan Judicial Commission had visited India last month and things were moving.

The issue of the Mumbai terror attacks was raised during the meeting between President Obama and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif earlier this week. Terrorism was of great concern to Pakistan since it was also a victim and the answer lay in not blaming each other but working jointly, he pointed out.

However, the trial of the Mumbai terror attacks has been languishing for a few years now. The Pakistan Judicial Commission visited Mumbai in September to cross examine two witnesses. The record of proceedings in court has not yet been sent to the foreign office. As a result the matter was postponed twice this month at the Anti Terrorism Court here.

Now the next hearing is on November 6. India has been demanding the handing over of the one of the key accused in the Mumbai strike Hafiz Saeed who heads the Jamat ud Dawa and is engaged in relief work. The U.S. has also placed a reward on him. The Pakistan government believes there is no evidence to bring Saeed to book for the attacks and has supported his relief work. The Punjab provincial government has given him funds for his social activities. The matter was also raised when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Mr Sharif on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.