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Pakistan charges 7 suspects in Mumbai attacks
Pakistan charged seven men on Wednesday in last year's Mumbai terror attacks, its first indictments in a case watched closely by India and the United States to see if Islamabad makes good on promises to punish those responsible.The indictments before an anti-terrorism court came on the eve of the first anniversary of the attacks on hotels, a train station and other targets in the Indian financial center that terrorized the city for three days and killed 166 people. The seven suspects pleaded not guilty to charges they helped plan and execute the attacks, defense lawyer Shahbaz Rajput and prosecutor Malik Rab Nawaz said. The men, allegedly belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group, could face the death penalty if convicted. Two of the defendants, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarrar Shah, have been accused by India of masterminding the attack. In the past, Islamabad has failed to punish militants suspected of attacks on targets in its giant eastern neighbor, And they will fail to punish in the future, as soon as the heat is off. with which it has fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947. Posted by: ed 2009-11-25 |
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