Islamabad:
Pakistan on Friday claimed that the trial of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operatives arrested for involvement in the Mumbai attacks would be completed within four months, even as it sought more time to examine the evidence provided by India against the terrorist group's founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed.
Refuting the contention of Indian leaders like Home Minister P Chidambaram that there had been no progress in Pakistan in bringing to justice the perpetrators of 26/11 attacks, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said: "I challenge you and say the trial (of the suspects) has started."
"After (the festival of) Eid, day-to-day hearings will be held and proceedings will be completed within the prescribed time limit," he said, adding it will take between two-and-half months to four months for the trial to be completed.
Five LeT operatives arrested earlier had already been chargesheeted while charges against two newly-arrested suspects will be filed soon, he told reporters.
Malik said Pakistan has already acknowledged that "part of the conspiracy" behind the Mumbai attacks was hatched by "non-state actors in Pakistan."
"Don't suspect our motives," he said, adding that LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, described by India as the mastermind of the attacks, had been arrested along with several aides.