Pakistan registers case against Kasab, 13 others

Pakistani authorities on Wednesday registered a case against Ajmal Amir Iman Kasab, the lone terrorist captured alive during the Mumbai attacks, and 13 others in connection with the terror strikes.

The case was registered on the basis of the probe conducted by the Federal Investigation Agency and the decision made by the Defence Committee of the Cabinet during its meeting on Monday, TV channels quoted unidentified sources as saying.

The case was registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act, Geo News channel reported. It quoted sources as saying that the case was registered at the Dockyard police station in Karachi.

Geo News also said that the three persons, who were arrested earlier in Karachi, were among the others named in the case. Nine more persons had been identified but were yet to be taken into custody, the channel reported.

Legal experts said that Pakistan will need the cooperation of Indian authorities to proceed with the case and bring it to court. Pakistani authorities might also need to seek access to Indian witnesses to proceed with the case, they said.

During its meeting on Monday, the Defence Committee of the Cabinet decided to register a case and conduct further investigations to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice, according to Pakistan laws.

The meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, said it would be "exceedingly difficult to complete the investigation and proceed with the case without substantial evidence" from India.

It also decided to send further queries to Indian authorities. Pakistan detained or placed under surveillance some 124 members of the Lashker-e-Taiyba and its front organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawah in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.

The LeT and Jamaat founder Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and communications expert Zarar Shah are among those detained.