India Seeks Interpol Help for 26/11 Pakistani Accused

Mumbai Police have formally requested the Union home ministry to leverage Interpol for serving court proclamation orders on six Pakistani nationals. These individuals are wanted in connection with the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The objective of this legal maneuver is to facilitate a trial in absentia, enabling Indian courts to proceed with legal proceedings even if the accused remain outside the country and cannot be apprehended.

The six accused include prominent Lashkar-e-Taiba figures such as founders Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, along with Sajid Mir, Abu Alqama, Asim alias Abu Qahafa, and Major Abdur Rehman Pasha. These individuals have remained absconding since the attacks. Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam informed the special court hearing terror cases that an interim report regarding these proclamation orders, issued in July, was submitted.

The current legal proceedings are guided by Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. This provision empowers courts to conduct a full criminal trial in the absence of an accused who has been declared a proclaimed offender and has deliberately evaded facing trial. Ajmal Kasab, the sole attacker captured alive during the 2008 assault, and David Headley, who later became an approver, have both testified to the alleged involvement of these six men. The 26/11 attacks in November 2008 resulted in 166 fatalities, including six American nationals.