Pak's 26/11 trial: Judge changed for 5th time

The judge conducting the trial of Lashkar-e-Tayiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six other Pakistani suspects charged with involvement in the Mumbai attacks was on Tuesday changed for the fifth time, raising questions about progress in the case.

Anti-terrorism court Judge Shahid Rafique, who was hearing the matter, was transferred and posted as district and sessions judge in Jhang area of Punjab province, officials said.

No judge was named to replace Rafique. Following the transfer, the case was adjourned till June 9. Khwaja Haris Ahmed, the counsel for Lakhvi, the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, expressed disappointment on yet another change in the judge conducting the trial.

"It is disappointing," Ahmed told PTI.

No reason was given for the judge's transfer but Ahmed said the move was "not unusual." A prosecutor described the development as a routine transfer and posting.

"Some other judges of Rawalpindi were also transferred on Tuesday," he said. The prosecution was earlier scheduled to present its arguments on the report of a Pakistani judicial commission that had visited Mumbai to record the statements of key officials who probed the 2008 Mumbai attacks.