After NSA, SPP sacked by Pak Govt for remarks on Kasab

After National Security Adviser Mahmud Ali Durrani, it was the turn of the Special Public Prosecutor in the Mumbai attacks case to be sacked by the Pakistan government for making controversial remarks on the lone captured terrorist Ajmal Kasab.

Sardar Mohammad Ghazi was fired by President Asif Ali Zardari who also removed him from the post of Deputy Attorney General, according to an official notification quoted by Dawn News channel. His removal came more than a week after the senior lawyer sparked a controversy claiming that Islamabad had formally requested India to hand over Kasab and that he was a prime suspect in 26/11.

Ghazi's comments on February 18 were denied hours later by the Foreign Office, which said no formal request had been made to India for Kasab's custody marking yet another flip-flop by Pakistan in connection with Mumbai strikes. He later went to London on a private visit.

He had said that Kasab was the "prime suspect" and it would be difficult to prosecute the other accused arrested in Pakistan if he was not handed over by India.

Durrani, a retired major general, was sacked on January seven by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani for having jumped the gun and publicly admitting that Kasab is a Pakistani national. He was handpicked for the key Security post by Zardari last year.

First Published: Feb 27, 2009 14:54 IST