Islamabad: A Pakistani anti-terrorism court conducting the 2008 Mumbai attack trial on Tuesday adjourned proceedings for a fortnight after the defence lawyers of seven suspects in the carnage failed to appear before the judge.
The main defence lawyer, Khwaja Sultan, was unwell and the other lawyers did not appear before anti-terrorism court judge Shahid Rafique during proceedings held at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, sources said.
The Federal Investigation filed an application that requested the judge to nominate an official to take records of the court's proceedings to India along with a Pakistani judicial commission.
The judge said he would issue an order in this regard shortly, the sources said.
The judge subsequently adjourned the proceedings till January 17.
The judicial commission is set to visit India to interview key law and police officers who recorded the confession of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving attacker, and investigated the attacks in November 2008 that killed 166 people.
At the last hearing on December 17, the defence lawyers informed the court that five of them were prepared to go to India with the judicial commission.
Pakistani officials have said that the visit by the commission is imperative to take forward the case in Pakistan, which has effectively stalled.
The seven suspects, including Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, have been charged with planning, financing and facilitating the attacks that were carried out by 10 Pakistani terrorists.
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