Islamabad, October 24: A new judge was today appointed to conduct the crucial trial of seven key suspects in the Mumbai terror attack case, replacing Judge Baqir Ali Rana who asked to be taken off citing “security issues”.
Judge Malik Muhammad Akram Awan of anti-terrorism court replaced Rana on the orders of Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court Khwaja Mohammad Sharif.
Rana was conducting in-camera the trial of the seven suspects, who included senior Lashker-e-Taiba operatives Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah, in the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
The Chief Justice issued the order following a request from Rana to be taken off the case due to “security issues”, sources told PTI.
There were reports that Rana received threats from the LeT because the suspects were indicted in the absence of their lawyers during a hearing on October 10.
–PTI