Sherry embarrasses Gilani, says no move to send FIA team

Islamabad, Feb 19 (PTI) In fresh embarrassment to
Pakistan government, Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani's statement on
the possibility of sending an investigation team to India was
contradicted by his cabinet colleague Sherry Rehman, who
denied that any such move had been initiated by Islamabad.

"We confirmed with the Foreign Office, there has been no
such move decided yet on the part of Pakistan," Information
Minister Rehman said shortly after Gilani had stated that
Pakistan is considering the possibility of sending an FIA team
to India as part of its probe into the Mumbai attacks.

Gilani had said that New Delhi had requested for a team
of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) probing the Pakistani
links to Mumbai attacks to visit India to aid in the probe.

"It is India's wish that an FIA team should visit the
country to share further information," Gilani, who was in
Lahore on an official visit, told reporters yesterday.

"We are seriously considering the request. We have no
objection to the FIA team going to India and holding meetings
to get further information to take the case forward," he said.

Gilani's statement was contradicted by Rehman, who
dismissed it as media speculation.

It was not immediately clear when India had made the
request for the Pakistani investigators to visit the country.

Gilani, who also said that India is yet to reply to
questions submitted by Pakistan along with its response to the
Indian dossier on the Mumbai attacks, gave no further details
of the Indian request for a probe team.

Pakistan had Wednesday spoken in two voices on the issue
of the custody of the captured Mumbai attacker Ajmal Amir
Kasab, with the Foreign Office negating an earlier statement
that a formal request had been made by Pakistan to India for
handing over of the gunman.

Pakistan "has made no formal request to India as yet" for
Kasab's custody, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said in
a brief statement.

The statement came hours after Deputy Attorney General
Sardar Mohammad Ghazi, who has been appointed Special Public
Prosecutor for the trial of Pakistani suspects linked to the
Mumbai attacks, said Kasab is the "prime suspect" and it would
be difficult to prosecute the other accused in this country if
he is not handed over to Pakistan.

"The government of Pakistan has formally requested the
Indian government to hand over the custody of Ajmal Kasab
because he is the prime suspect and the rest of these
suspects, they are abettors, they abetted the crime," Ghazi
told Dawn News channel.

Officials of the Indian High Commission too said they had
not received any formal request from Pakistani authorities for
the handing over of Kasab. PTI