Pak court adjourns Mumbai case

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, Oct 17 (PTI) A Pakistani anti-terror court
conducting the trial of seven suspects, including
Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, for
alleged involvement in the Mumbai attacks on Saturday
adjourned the matter for a week even as defence lawyers
boycotted the proceedings.

The lawyers boycotted the proceedings apparently to
protest Judge Baqir Ali Rana's decision to formally charge the
suspects in their absence at the last hearing on October 10,
sources told PTI.

There was no official word on the proceedings due to a
gag order issued by the court. The judge scheduled the next
hearing for October 24.

Sources quoted the lawyers as saying that the
indictment of the suspects was "one-sided" and an act of
"injustice".

The accused have also refused to sign the papers
related to their indictment in the absence of their lawyers,
the sources said.

Khwaja Sultan, one of the four defence lawyers, had
last week raised objections about the manner in which the
suspects were indicted. Sultan told reporters that none of the
lawyers were present in court at the time of the indictment.
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