Pakistani National Files Application To Appear As Witness In Samjhauta Blast Case; Judgement Deferred To 14 March

The NIA court adjudicating the Samjhauta Express blast case has deferred its judgment in the case to 14 March following an application filed by a Pakistani national to depose in the matter as a witness, reports DNA. The application states that all 13 witnesses from Pakistan were willing to make appearances before the court to submit their statements.

The application was submitted before the court of judge jagdeep Singh by the lawyer of Rahila Wakeel, who belongs to Pakistan’s Hafizabad district.

"Without their evidence, the trial cannot be declared on merit. We request the court to accept the submission. If these witnesses are not granted a chance to depose in court, it will be an irreparable loss to the victims and the witnesses," stated the document produced before the court.

Wakeel’s father was one of the 68 victims who had died in the 2007 blast. She has also asserted that none of the Pakistani witnesses, including her, had recieved a summons from the court to appear before it.

If the court accepts the application, it has the potential to reopen the whole trial.

The case goes back to the bombing of the Samjhauta Express train on 18 February 2007. Most of the victims were Pakistani citizens.