Kasab’s trial to proceed despite confession

MUMBAI: An Indian judge on Thursday ruled that the trial of the sole surviving gunman of the Mumbai attacks will continue, despite the accused’s confession.Judge ML Tahaliyani described Ajmal Kasab’s confession as only a “partial admission” of guilt to the scores of charges the Pakistani national faces over the attacks, in which 10 gunmen killed 166 people last November.“The statement made by Kasab is a partial admission,” Tahaliyani said. “He has however not admitted to all of the 86 charges framed against him,” he added.Evidence from the Mumbai trial could theoretically be used in Pakistan against five members of Islamist group Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LT), prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the court.However, analysts say the decision gives prosecutors a chance to put LT – and by extension Pakistan – on trial. “This trial was not just about Kasab as an individual but the manner in which Kasab’s trial leads to the linkages within Pakistan,” says Uday Bhaskar, a security analyst based in New Delhi

Article from Daily Times-Rajesh Nair