Lawyers of Pakistani accused in Mumbai case step down

In a development that could delay the trial of seven Pakistanis charged with involvement in the Mumbai attacks, two lawyers defending the accused have separated themselves from the case for "personal reasons".

Defence lawyers Khwaja Haris Ahmad and Riaz Akram Cheema will no longer represent the accused, including Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, who have been on trial for over four years. The move came days ahead of the fifth anniversary of the brazen attacks.

"I have separated myself from the Mumbai case for personal reasons," Cheema said today. He said Ahmad had earlier separated himself from the case and handed it over to him.

The exit of the defence lawyers could slow down the pace of the trial since new counsel would take time to familiarise themselves with the case, legal experts said.

Asked repeatedly why he would no longer represent the accused, Cheema only said he had to look after his ailing mother. He declined to comment when he was asked if there was any pressure on him and Ahmad.

Cheema said new defence counsel would be named soon.

He had been pursuing the case since the trial began in early 2009 while Ahmad had replaced his father, Khwaja Sultan Ahmad, after his death over a year ago.

Cheema was also part of the Pakistani judicial commission that recently visited India to question key witnesses, including the judge who recorded attacker Ajmal Kasab's confession and the police officer who led the probe into the attacks on India's financial hub that killed 166 people in November 2008.

However, Special Public Prosecutor Chaudhury Mohammed Azhar said the trial would not be delayed. "There is no question of any delay. The case will go on. New defence lawyers will be appointed," he told PTI.

India has repeatedly expressed its disappointment at the slow-paced trial in Pakistan. Indian High Commissioner T C A Raghavan even said the trial was in the "freezer" for long.