For the first time, an Indian team may soon travel to Pakistan to collect 26/11 evidence from Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and get access to Mumbai terror attack witnesses in that country.
India has told Pakistan that before its Judicial Commission sets foot on Indian soil again to cross-examine 26/11 witnesses in Mumbai, Islamabad should allow India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) team to visit Pakistan.
Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde flagged the issue with Pakistan’s adviser to the Prime Minister on interior affairs, Rehman Malik, when they met in Maldives on the sidelines of the Saarc home ministers conference recently. India will soon send a formal request to Pakistan about the visit of the National Investigation Agency team to that country.
New Delhi’s move comes at a time when five prosecution witnesses have testified before a Pakistani anti-terrorism court last week that the 26/11 gunmen had indeed got training in Pakistan.
These witnesses have also shared details of the training camps where the attackers had prepared for the assault on Mumbai.
Top government officials said that if the proposed visit of the National Investigation Agency team fructifies, it will give a major boost to the efforts of Indian agencies to unearth the entire 26/11 conspiracy hatched on Pakistani soil. The Union home ministry wants Pakistan’s FIA to share the 26/11 case diary, evidences collected by the FIA , testimonies of 26/11 witnesses and access to question them when the National Investigation Agency team lands in Islamabad. Top government sources said that Mr Malik has assured Mr Shinde that they will examine the request.
Many within the security establishment view this as a litmus test for Pakistan on whether it will allow access to Indian sleuths and fulfil its commitment towards bringing 26/11 perpetrators to justice.
Mr Shinde’s request has also thrown the ball back in Pakistan’s court which had been mounting pressure on New Delhi to allow its judicial commission to visit Mumbai for a second time arguing that any failure to do so could allow the accused in that country to go scot-free.
Top Laskhar-eTayyaba commander Zaki ur-Rehman Lakhvi and six other Pakistani suspects have been charged with planning, financing and facilitating the 26/11 attacks that killed 166 people in Mumbai and their trial is going on in Pakistan.