Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari sacks the country's deputy Attorney General and Special Public Prosecutor Sardar Mohammad Ghazi. The decisions were made nearly two weeks after the senior official sparked controversy by claiming that Islamabad had formally requested India to hand over Ajmal Amir Qasab in a bid to speed up investigations into Mumbai terror attacks, Pakistani Dawn News Television reported on Friday. On February 18, Ghazi said that Qasab was the 'prime suspect' and it would be difficult to prosecute the other defendants arrested in Pakistan if the lone surviving terrorist in Mumbai attack was not handed over by India.
Over 170 people lost lives in last November's terror attacks on India's financial hub, Mumbai.
He made the comments shortly after he was named the Special Public Prosecutor in the case related to the Mumbai attacks. Ghazi's comments were denied hours later by the Pakistani Foreign Office, which said no formal request had been made to India for Qasab's custody.
Qasab, the lone serving gunman of the Mumbai attacks was arrested by India and is expected to be formally charged in India during a hearing session on Tuesday.
Relations between New Delhi and Islamabad have been tense since the death of over 170 people in last November's terror attacks on India's financial hub. India blamed banned Pakistan-based militants for the raids, alleging that the perpetrators were 'clients and creations' of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) -- a claim Islamabad has repeatedly denied.