Mumbai suspect to appear in court

India says the surviving Mumbai gunman was a Lashkar-e-Taiba militant

Mohammed Ajmal Qasab, the surviving suspect from the deadly attacks on Mumbai, is due to appear in court.

There will be intense security as he is brought before a magistrate on Thursday for an extension of his remand.

He is facing charges including murder, attempted murder, waging war against a country and criminal conspiracy.

Mumbai police say he was one of 10 militants who attacked a number of targets in the city on 26 November, leaving at least 170 people dead.

'Sustained interrogation'

Given the security concerns, police are reserving the option of taking the magistrate to the safe house where Mohammed Ajmal Qasab, earlier named as Azam Amir Qasab, is being kept to complete the procedures of remand.

TEN NAMED GUNMEN Nasir, alias Abu Umar (Nariman House) Abu Ali (Taj Palace) Soheb (Taj Palace) Fahad Ullah (Oberoi) Mohammed Ajmal Qasab (survived) Bada Abdul Rehaman (above left, Taj Palace) Abdul Rehaman Chota (above right, Oberoi) Ismal Khan (CST station) Babar Imaran (Nariman House) Nazir, alias Abu Omer (Taj Palace)

The suspected militant was first produced on 27 November, a day after he was arrested, and was then remanded to 14 days of police custody.

Police say that with his accomplice, Ismal Khan, Mohammed Ajmal Qasab opened fire indiscriminately at the CST station and two other places, killing more than 50 people, including three top police officers.

Ismal Khan was shot dead but Mohammed Ajmal Qasab was taken alive and has been undergoing "sustained interrogation" since then.

Under Indian law police can ask for another 14 days of custody for further interrogation.

They are required to file a charge sheet within 90 days of arrest but as there are 12 different offences, it could take longer.

It is not clear whether Mohammed Ajmal Qasab has any legal representation.

There have been reports that a prominent group of Indian lawyers is refusing to defend him.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Magistrate Court's Bar Association reportedly passed a resolution over the weekend saying its 1,000 members should not do so.

However, all accused are entitled to legal aid and this should be provided when the accused asks for it before the court.

Call for ban

In a police briefing on Wednesday, joint commissioner of police Rakesh Maria denied that there had been a statement of confession from Mohammed Ajmal Qasab recorded by the anti-terrorist squad.

Mr Maria also denied a New York Times report that said 20 more attackers who had undergone training with the Mumbai 10 were untraceable.

Troops battled for three days to regain control of Mumbai

But Mr Maria did say that the 10 had been given a motivational speech by Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Pakistan-based charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa who is regarded as the spiritual leader of banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

India blames Lashkar-e-Taiba for carrying out the attacks.

India on Tuesday urged the UN Security Council to ban Jamaat-ud-Dawa.

India's junior foreign minister E Ahamed said he had asked the UN Security Council "to proscribe the Pakistani group Jamaat-ud-Dawa since it is a terrorist outfit".

Pakistan's prime minister on Wednesday confirmed police were questioning two key Lashkar-e-Taiba militants.

Yousuf Raza Gilani said Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarrar Shah were being questioned in the city of Multan.

Mr Gilani said the arrests showed that Pakistan was doing all it could to track down the attackers.

But Islamabad has said that any of its citizens believed to be involved in the attacks will be tried in Pakistan.