Pak terrorist held in J&K stands trial in Varanasi

A Pakistani terrorist arrested in Jammu in 1998 was on Monday, produced before an Additional District judge as part of a Supreme Court decision to conduct the trial of terror accused arrested in Jammu and Kashmir in courts outside that state.

Gulam Abbas, who was recently brought here by Jammu and Kashmir police and lodged in Central Jail, was produced before ADJ S Khushwaha who, during the first hearing, ordered the translation of the case diary from Urdu to Hindi or English.

The Supreme Court had on November 10 2008 issued directions to conduct the hearing of cases against Pakistani terrorists in courts outside Jammu and Kashmir.

During the hearing, the ADJ directed the district magistrate to ensure translation of the case dairy either in Hindi or English at the expense of the state government.

The police said Abbas, a native of Faisalabad in Pakistan, was arrested in Jammu in 1998. On a tip off given by him, the Jammu and Kashmir police had allegedly recovered a huge quantity of weapons and explosives.

Abbas was later sent back to the Central Jail. The court fixed March 16 as the next date for hearing in the matter.

A large number of lawyers and onlookers had gathered outside the court to see the terror accused as he was brought and taken away from the court amid high security.