Mumbai evidence not admissible in its court: Pak tells India

August 1, 2012

mumbai_copy


Islamabad, August 1: The Pakistan government has formally informed India that evidence provided by New Delhi in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks case is not admissible in a Pakistani court as defence lawyers were not allowed to cross-examine Indian officials, a media report said today.

Pakistan's Interior Ministry has informed the Indian government that the evidence is not admissible in the trial of seven Pakistani suspects, including Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, since defence lawyers were not allowed to cross-examine Indian officials when a Pakistani judicial commission visited Mumbai in March. In a letter sent to the Indian government yesterday, the Interior Ministry cited the ruling of a Rawalpindi-based anti-terrorism court and said cross-examination of key Indian officials is needed to make the evidence admissible in Pakistan, The Express Tribune reported.

During a hearing on July 28, the anti-terrorism court did not record the statement of two Pakistani investigators who were scheduled to testify about the evidence provided by India. The judge ruled that since the evidence gathered by the Pakistani judicial commission in India had not been made part of the case, the testimony regarding the Indian evidence too should not be recorded.

The evidence provided by the Indian authorities includes the confessional statement of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist, a CD with intercepts of conversations between the attackers in Mumbai and their handlers in Pakistan, autopsy and medical reports of the dead and injured and the statements of four Indian officials.

The Pakistani judicial commission had interviewed these four officials during the visit the Mumbai. However, no cross-examination was allowed under an agreement between India and Pakistan.

Sources privy to the investigations by the Federal Investigation Agency told The Express Tribune that the Interior Ministry had made it clear to India that the evidence would not have any legal value in Pakistan if the Indian officials could not be cross-examined by lawyers representing the seven accused facing trial in Pakistan.

On July 17, the judge of the anti-terrorism court accepted Lakhvi's plea and declared the findings of the judicial commission "null and void". The accused had challenged the legal value of the report of the judicial commission as their lawyers were not allowed to cross-examine Indian officials who provided evidence against them.

The seven suspects have been charged with planning, financing and executing the terror attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people in November 2008.

Their trial has been hit by countless delays and the judge has been changed five times.

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Agencies
May 18,2020

India is among 58 nations, including 27 European Union members, who have moved a draft resolution demanding evaluation of the World Health Organisation (WHO)'s response towards the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The European Union-led draft resolution on global COVID-19 response is set to be tabled at the upcoming World Health Assembly on Monday.

The draft resolution demands initiation "at the earliest appropriate moment to review experience gained and lessons learned from the WHO-coordinated international health response to COVID-19".

"We are deeply concerned by the morbidity and mortality caused by COVID-19 pandemic, the negative impacts on physical and mental health and social well-being, the negative impacts on economy and society and the consequent exacerbation of inequalities within and between countries," read the draft.

"We express solidarity to all countries affected by the pandemic, as well as condolences and sympathy to all the families of the victims of COVID-19," it added.

The resolution says timelines are to be evaluated regarding "recommendations the WHO made to improve global pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacity".

The WHO on January 23 declare a global health emergency, but did not declare it and waited for a week for its director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to return from China.

By that time, COVID-19 cases increased 10 times and the virus entered 18 countries.

According to Health Policy Watch, till as late as February, the WHO did not support countries for imposing travel restrictions to China.

"When countries began evacuating their citizens from Wuhan, the COVID-19 epicentre, the WHO said it did not favour this step".

The WHO finally declared it a pandemic on March 11.

The global health body has come under criticism not just from the US for its response being "China-centric".

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Agencies
February 23,2020

Rajghat, Feb 23: The maternal uncle of Dr Kafeel Khan, who was recently arrested for allegedly making inflammatory statements during anti-CAA protests, was shot dead in front of his house at Bankatichak in Rajghat area, police said on Sunday.

Dr Nusratullah Warsi aka Dada (55), a property dealer, was shot dead on Saturday night at about 10:45 pm and an FIR against two people was filed in this connection on a written complaint of his family members.

According to police, it appears to be a case of murder due to monetary and property dispute and they are searching for both the accused.

Dr Kafeel Khan, suspended doctor of Gorakhpur BRD Medical College, was last month arrested under charges of giving a provocative speech during a protest against the CAA and NRC at Aligarh Muslim University and was later charged with the National Security Act.

Warsi on Saturday evening had gone to his lawyer Siraj Tariq's house, a few metres away from his own house, and was returning home on foot when a man shot him in his head, killing him on the spot.

"On the written complaint of family members, case of murder against one Imammuddin and Anil Sonkar has been registered and police has initiated probe and is searching for both the accused. Police met the women in their house and is interrogating them," Circle Officer VP Singh said.

Prima facie it appears to be a case of property and money dispute, he said, adding, three teams have been constituted to investigate the case and soon the accused will be caught.

Dr Kafeel Khan had last month raised apprehension in a Mumbai court about being killed in an "encounter" by the Uttar Pradesh police after claiming that he had been "falsely" implicated in the case by them.

The paediatrician had come to the limelight in 2017 when a controversy broke out after the death of over 60 children in less than a week at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, where he was posted.

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Agencies
January 26,2020

Jaipur, Jan 26: Rajasthan on Saturday on Saturday became the third state in the country to pass a resolution urging the Centre to repeal the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

he resolution was passed in the state Assembly amid opposition by the BJP which accused the ruling Congress of pursuing appeasement politics.

It is the second Congress-ruled state to pass such a resolution after Punjab. The Kerala Assembly too had passed such a resolution against the CAA moved jointly by the ruling Left Front alliance and the opposition Congress-led UDF.

The Rajasthan Assembly resolution, passed by voice vote, also asked the Centre to withdraw the new fields of information that have been sought for updation of the National Population Register (NPR) 2020.

"It is evident that the CAA violates the provisions of the Constitution. Therefore, the House resolves to urge upon the government of India to repeal the CAA to avoid any discrimination on the basis of religion in granting citizenship and to ensure equality before law for all religious groups of India," the state's parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal said, moving the resolution.

Leader of the opposition Gulab Chand Kataria of the BJP questioned the state's right to challenge the Act.

"Granting citizenship is a matter for the Centre. In such a situation do we have the right to challenge the CAA? The Congress should stop doing appeasement and vote bank politics," he said.

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abdullah
 - 
Sunday, 26 Jan 2020

Salute to Rajasthan Govt for rejecting communal and black CAA bill.   This bill is agaisnt the teach of our Constitution and bjp has never done anything as per our constitutin.   Its trying its best to scrap the constitution and restore it with RSS agenda.    We should oppose any move by bjp against the value of constitution.   As bjp has no respect to our constitution, it has no right to be in power.    Many of bjp leaders are giving statemetns against the value of constitution and such leaders should be treated as anti indians and action be taken on them.   

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