[DAWN] The voice samples of Ziaur Rehman Lakhvi are in the limelight once again since the Ufa meeting but it's an issue that the FIA has been following for the past few years, even though the Agency now claims that they are irrelevant to the trial.After having pursued the matter for four years, the FIA now says the voice samples cannot be used as evidence.
"Though it might be helpful in the course of investigation but the audio allegedly recorded by the Indian Intelligence cannot be used as evidence as there is no law under which the authenticity of the voice could be proved", a senior prosecutor in the Mumbai attacks case told Dawn.
He said that though the existing laws permitted the use of electronic evidence, there is no provision under which an accused can be forced to provide an audio recording of his voice which can then be matched with available samples.
This view was also echoed by prosecutor Mohammad Azhar Chaudhry who in a telephonic interview to some Indian channels after the Ufa meeting categorically stated that "the issue of voice sample is over now."
Prime minister's adviser on national security and foreign affairs after the Ufa meeting has reportedly said that Pakistain needs more information and evidence to conclude the (Mumbai) trial.
These statements were made because the Indian side brought up the Lakhvi trial in Ufa, including the issue of matching the voice samples.
However,
a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package...
the FIA was counting on these voice samples a mere four years ago.
In 2011, the Agency went to the IHC to obtain the voice samples of Lakhvi and his co-accused Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil, Jamil Ahmed and Younas Anjum currently confined in Adiala Jail. The petition is still pending in the IHC.
The IHC division bench on September 12, 2012 dismissed the petition for "non prosecution" -- in other words, the FIA was not pursuing this matter.
However,
a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package...
after the dismissal the FIA woke up again and its prosecutor filed a revised petition before the court once again asking the court to order the suspects to provide their voice samples.