Pak to ask India to respond to its 30 queries by early March

Pakistani authorities on Wednesday ask India to respond by early March to a set of 30 questions handed over by them to New Delhi as part of their reply to the Indian dossier on the Mumbai attacks.

The decision was made at a meeting chaired by Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik to take stock of Pakistan's probe into the November 26 Mumbai strikes, official sources said.

The decision was conveyed to the Foreign Ministry so that the matter could be taken up with Indian authorities, they said.

The remand of four suspects in the Mumbai attacks -- Lashkar-e-Taiba activists Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Zarar Shah, Abu al Qama and Hamad Amin Sadiq -- ends on March 3 and it is believed that the Indian response to Pakistan's 30 questions is crucial for further proceedings against them.

The sources said the request for an early response to the questions could figure in a proposed meeting between the Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan on the sidelines of the SAARC ministerial meet in Colombo.