Pakistan to respond to 26/11 dossier on Thursday

Pakistan is expected to respond to the Indian dossier on the Mumbai attacks on Thursday after wrapping up its investigation, extending the earlier deadline set by it to complete the probe by two days.

With a 10-day deadline for the completion of a preliminary probe expiring on Tuesday, Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik held a meeting to review progress made so far in the investigation.

There was no official word on the meeting though Dawn News channel quoted an official source as saying that Malik had extended the deadline for completing the probe till January 29.

The source said the deadline was extended as a review of 'some aspects' of the Indian dossier had not been completed.

Malik had told a news conference on January 17 that a three-member was probing the Mumbai attacks and examining the Indian dossier. The team was expected to submit its preliminary findings within ten days.

The official source told Dawn News that the Pakistan government is also expected to give a response to the dossier to India on January 29. The source said a large part of the investigation had been completed and only a few aspects and angles remained to be probed.

India handed over its dossier on the Mumbai attacks to Pakistan on January 5. Pakistan subsequently acknowledged that Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist captured during the Mumbai attacks, was a Pakistani national.