Islamabad, July 11: Pakistan today said the trial of five men accused in the Mumbai terror attacks will begin soon and accused India of delaying the investigation into the 26/11 strikes by not providing information sought by Islamabad.
In remarks coming ahead of the meeting between prime minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart, Yousaf Raza Gilani, interior minister Rehman Malik said, “Delay in investigations into [the] Mumbai attacks [is] not because of us but because of India.
“We have filed the final charge sheet against five people arrested in connection with the Mumbai attacks. We completed the probe in a record 76 days,” Malik told reporters here.
He said Pakistan had also arrested 12 suspects in connection with the blasts and added that the “trial of five men arrested for the attacks will start soon”. The 26/11 attacks killed more than 180 people.
Malik blamed India for not giving information on the attacks sought by Islamabad and said Pakistan had taken up the matter with the Indian High Commission here.
“India delayed handing over of materials to us and there are also a number of inconsistencies,” Malik said, adding that Pakistan is also waiting for information on the Samjhauta Express blast as its nationals were killed in the incident.
“We have been asking them [India] to give information on the Samjhauta Express blast. Just like the people of India are asking questions on the Mumbai attacks, people in Pakistan are asking about the Samjhauta blasts because ‘our people were killed’ in the blast,” he said.
Malik said Indian accusations that Pakistan is delaying the investigations are “absolutely wrong”. “I strongly deny the accusations. We have gone the extra mile on the issue,” he said.
The interior minister also said Pakistan has no doubt that local assistance was provided to the Mumbai attackers.
–Agencies