Pak judicial commission to arrive in Mumbai in Feb

A Pakistani judicial commission, which has been allowed to record the statements of key persons involved in Mumbai attack probe, will arrive here in the first week of February.

Official sources here said the dates of February 3 and 4 for the visit have been conveyed to Mumbai Crime Branch by the Pakistan High Commission through diplomatic channels.

The Mumbai police was also requested to make necessary arrangements for the visit, the sources said.

The visit of the Pakistan Judicial commission was given a go ahead by the Bombay high court.

The Pakistani Judicial Commission will be recording the statement of Ramesh Mahale, the 26/11 case investigating officer and R V Sawant-Waghul, the magistrate who recorded the confessional statement of lone surviving Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab. The statement of a few doctors of J J Hospital who treated Kasab will also be recorded.

All the statements would be recorded at Esplanade court in south Mumbai, the sources said.

The Union ministry of home affairs had conveyed through diplomatic channels to Pakistan about receiving the green signal from the Bombay high court.

Pakistan has already issued a gazette notification on the formation of the judicial commission and has listed the members who will represent Pakistan government.

The delegation will include Khalid Qureshi, the head of the Federal Investigation Agency's Special Investigation Group, and Muhammad Azhar Chaudhry and Chaudhry Zulifqar –the two main prosecutors.