MUMBAI: The trial of the only Pakistani Islamist militant suspect captured during November's Mumbai attacks in India opened in disarray Wednesday with the judge sacking the defence lawyer.

Moments after the high-profile trial kicked off, the packed courtroom was told there could be a conflict of interest as Anjali Waghmare, the lawyer defending Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, had links to a potential prosecution witness. 'We need to give a just and fair trial to Kasab, and it is necessary to appoint a lawyer who can handle a case of this nature properly and with due diligence,' judge M.L. Tahaliyani told the court. The decision left 21-year-old Kasab, who faces the death penalty if convicted of taking part in the November 2008 rampage of killing in India's financial capital, without any legal representation. Kasab, who was making his first public appearance since his arrest, then asked the court to provide him with a Pakistani defence lawyer. The judge rejected the request on the grounds that a lawyer had to be Indian, but stressed that the Indian legal system 'will do whatever we can that is legally right.' 'Pakistan can assist you to find you a lawyer,' the judge said, adding that the Indian government would communicate to Islamabad the appeal for legal aid. Kasab, said to belong to the banned Pakistan-based Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), faces a string of charges including 'waging war' on India, murder, attempted murder and kidnapping. The 60-hour-long attacks saw 10 gunmen land in the city by boat and murder more than 160 people in a packed railway station, two luxury hotels, a trendy cafe and Jewish centre. A further 300 others were wounded. Preparation for the trial had already been dogged by the struggle to find a lawyer willing to defend Kasab. Last year, the Mumbai Metropolitan Magistrate Court's Bar Association resolved not to represent him, while the Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena party called for Kasab to be executed without trial outside the railway station. Anjali Waghmare, the lawyer who was dismissed, was also denounced for eventually taking on the case and was attacked by irate Hindu radicals. She has since been given the highest level of police protection. Speaking outside the court, Waghmare denied that she had been accused of professional misconduct, saying her withdrawal was a 'precautionary measure' and she bore no ill will towards the court. Security was tight around the court, inside a prison, which was last used to try suspects over the deadly 1993 bomb blasts in the city. A bomb-proof tunnel has reportedly been built from Kasab's cell after he received death threats. Traffic was banned from around the prison for the duration of the trial, which is expected to last up to six months and may hear testimony from as many as 2,000 witnesses. During Wednesday's hearings, Kasab appeared unable to follow the proceedings, which were conducted in English and Hindi, an AFP reporter in the courtroom said. Two other men are also on trial: Indian nationals Fahim Ansari, 35, and Sabauddin Ahmed, 24, are accused of providing the group with logistical support before the attacks. Prosecutors say they have evidence that 'undoubtedly and conclusively' links the attacks to India's arch-rival Pakistan, including mobile and satellite phone communication between the gunmen and their LeT 'handlers.' Kasab's DNA and fingerprints were found on items retrieved from the hijacked Indian fishing trawler the gunmen used to get to the Mumbai coast, it is alleged. There is CCTV and other footage of him at Mumbai's main railway station, where more than 50 people died after two gunmen opened fire with AK-47 assault rifles and threw grenades. Thirty eyewitnesses also picked him out in identification parades, the charge sheet says.