Pakistani anti-terrorism court trying the seven Mumbai terror attack accused, including LeT operations commander and mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, adjourned the hearing for the third consecutive time without any business due to a lawyers' strike today.
No proceeding was held today as lawyers observed strike over the murder of an additional sessions judge in Rawalpindi in an attack claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a court official told PTI.
"Our special task force has targeted judge Niazi in Rawalpindi successfully," TTP spokesman Muhammad Khorasani said in an emailed statement.
The TTP did not say why the judge was targeted.
The hearing in the Mumbai case was adjourned for over a month as the judge has gone on a "summer vacation."
"The court office today adjourned the Mumbai case till September 9 as the judge has gone on summer vacation," said the official.
No proceedings have been held during the last three hearings owing to one or another reason.
Mumbai Attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi has already been exempted from in-person appearance in the trial court because of "threats" to his life.
Fifty-five-year-old Lakhvi has been released on bail since April 10 after the Lahore High Court set aside the government's order to detain him under the security act.
Six other accused -- Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum -- have been in Adiala Jail for nearly six years in connection with planning and executing the Mumbai attack in November, 2008 that left 166 people dead.
