ISLAMABAD, Jan 26: After considerable delay, the Indian government has finally allowed the cross-examination of its four officials by defence counsel of seven Pakistani suspects of Mumbai attacks and asked the authorities here to send over their panel by middle of February for the purpose.

Sources in the prosecuting agency concerned — the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) — told Dawn that the breakthrough was achieved in December when an Indian delegation visited Pakistan and held talks with senior law officers and government functionaries here. Before agreeing to the cross-examination of their officials, the delegation discussed the admissibility in the Pakistani courts of the statements made by Indian witnesses, the sources added.

According to the sources, the chief justice of the Mumbai High Court (MHC) has designated a Mumbai Metropolitan judge as presiding officer for the attacks commission that would start its proceedings in the second week of February.

The composition of the Pakistani panel for the Mumbai commission and its travel plans would be finalised on Monday, the sources said.

In March last year, a Pakistani delegation comprising FIA special prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, his associate Chaudhry Mohammad Azhar, FIA official Azad Khan and the counsel for the seven suspects in the case visited India.

However, soon after returning from India, Khwaja Haris Ahmed, who was heading the team of defence counsel, challenged in the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) of Rawalpindi the Mumbai commission’s proceedings on the grounds that the Pakistani counsel had not been allowed to cross-examine the four Indian witnesses.

On July 17, ATC Judge Chaudhry Habibur Rehman declared the findings of the Mumbai commission illegal and observed that testimonies of the Indian witnesses were recorded in violation of the law of evidence and relevant sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The presiding judge of the Mumbai commission, S.S. Shinde, had denied the right of cross-examination to the Pakistani defence counsel after Indian prosecutor Ujual Nikam produced before him a letter about an understanding between the Pakistani and Indian governments for exempting the Indian witnesses from cross-examination.

Talking to Dawn on Saturday, FIA prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali said the cross-examination of the 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 — would enable the prosecution to use the statements as evidence against the suspects.

He said the suspects — alleged mastermind of the attacks Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younas Anjum — could not be convicted unless the statements of the two doctors who conducted the post-mortem of the persons killed, Magistrate Waghule and Mr Mahale were brought on record.

According to him, Pakistan and India share a “common Criminal Procedure Code” under which the evidence cannot be exhibited or brought on record unless the right of cross-examination was given to the defence.

He said the Mumbai commission would record the statements of the witnesses after cross-examining them. Once this work was completed, the entire record would be brought back to the ATC and the evidence could then be used for or against the accused.

The counsel for the alleged mastermind Lakhvi, Khwaja Haris Ahmed, said the cross-examination of the Indian witnesses would bring truth before the court.

He alleged that the Indian government deliberately did not allow the defence counsel to cross-examine the witnesses earlier because they wanted to delay the process until the execution of Kasab.

After Kasab’s execution, the Indians were in a better position. That’s why they had allowed the cross-examination of the witnesses, he added.