A Pakistani judicial commission's visit to India to cross-examine key witnesses in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case was on Tuesday delayed by four days due to the non-availability of flights.
"We were supposed to leave on September 7 but the PIA flight on that day has been cancelled. Hence, we would be leaving on September 11," Riaz Akram Cheema, part of the legal team defending the seven Pakistani suspects, told PTI.
The anti-terrorism court in Islamabad hearing the Mumbai attacks case will be informed about the development on Wednesday, he said.
"The window that had been given to us (for the visit) was between September 3 and 18," Cheema said.
Earlier in the day, the hearing of the Mumbai attacks case was adjourned till Wednesday after the prosecution said the Law Ministry was yet to issue a gazette notification about the judicial commission's visit to India.
Special Prosecutor M Azhar Chaudhry informed the judge that the gazette notification would be submitted in court on Wednesday. Cheema told the court that the panel needs at least four days to cross-examine four witnesses in Mumbai. Judge Atiqur Rehman then adjourned the hearing till Wednesday.
The eight-member judicial commission was scheduled to visit India from September 7 to cross-examine key witnesses in order to take forward the prosecution of seven suspects, including Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
The witnesses are the magistrate who recorded LeT member Ajmal Kasab's confessional statement, the chief investigating officer and two doctors who conducted the autopsy of the terrorists who carried out the Mumbai attacks in November 2008.
This will be the panel's second visit to India. A report submitted by the panel after its first visit in March 2012 was rejected by an anti-terrorism court as the commission's members were not allowed to cross-examine witnesses.
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