ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) here on Thursday directed the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) to arrange visit of Pakistani panel of lawyers to India for cross examining four witnesses of the Mumbai attacks.

The order was passed by the ATC judge Atiqur Rehman on an application filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) through special prosecutor Mohammad Azhar Chaudhry.

The prosecutor also requested the court for directions to the federal government for making coordination with the Indian authorities to ensure the security of Pakistani lawyers during their stay in India.

He also pointed out recent attacks on the Pakistani High Commission in India and on Dosti (friendship) bus carrying Pakistani passengers to India and said that was necessary for the Pakistani government to take up the matter related to the security of lawyers during their stay in Mumbai.

Pakistani lawyers would cross-examine four Indian witnesses — Magistrate R.V. Sawant Waghule, who recorded the confessional statement of Ajmal Kasab; Ramesh Mahale, chief investigating officer of the case; and Ganesh Dhunraj and Chintaman Mohite, the two doctors who carried out the post-mortem of the slain assailants.

The Pakistani panel in March last year had recorded the statements of these witnesses but the ATC in July 2012 declared the proceedings of Mumbai commission illegal after the defence counsels pointed out that S.S. Shinde, the presiding officer of the Mumbai commission, did not allow the cross examining of the Indian witnesses.

In January this year the chief justice of the Mumbai High Court (MHC) had designated a Mumbai Metropolitan judge as presiding officer for commission and the Indian authorities also assured Pakistan for cross examining on the witnesses of the Mumbai attacks.