by Sami Zubeiri

ISLAMABAD - A Pakistani court on Wednesday charged seven suspects in connection with the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people one year ago, a defence lawyer said.

The men were indicted at an anti-terrorism court in a high security prison in the city of Rawalpindi on the eve of the first anniversary of India's worst militant attacks, which dramatically soured relations with rival Pakistan.

All seven pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Among the seven, who were arrested by Pakistan over the November 26-29 siege on India's financial capital, are alleged mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and alleged key Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative Zarar Shah.

"All seven of them have been indicted, including Lakhvi. The accused pleaded not guilty as the evidence does not support the charges," lawyer Shahbaz Rajput told AFP by telephone.

"They have been indicted under the anti-terrorism act and the Pakistani penal code," said Rajput, without elaborating.

India and Washington blamed the deadly Mumbai rampage on Pakistan's banned militant group LeT and the attacks stalled a fragile four-year peace process between the two nuclear-armed south Asian rivals.

In Washington for a state visit this week, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called on the world to pressure Pakistan to rein in extremists.

US President Barack Obama said he believed Pakistan was making progress in fighting extremism.

The nuclear-armed Muslim nation is locked in offensives against Taliban militants in the northwest and has historically funded anti-India groups.

Wednesday's indictments come a week after India handed Pakistan more information about the attacks, which New Delhi blamed Pakistani "official agencies" for abetting - charges that Islamabad flatly denies.

Court proceedings have taken place behind closed doors with journalists barred from the hearings and defence lawyers leaking only small details.

"We will defend them. The next hearing is December 5," said Rajput.

New Delhi has been pressuring Islamabad to speed up a probe of Pakistani militants blamed for the 60-hour siege that saw 10 heavily armed gunmen target luxury hotels, Mumbai's main railway station, a restaurant and a Jewish centre.

According to news agency Press Trust of India, the latest information handed to Pakistan included statements of key witnesses, including a magistrate and FBI officials, from the trial of the lone gunman to survive the attacks.

The gunman, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, has confessed to his involvement in the attacks in a dramatic announcement to a court in Mumbai.

The two countries, which gained independence from British rule and split in the 1947 partition, have fought three wars.