MUMBAI (AFP) - An Indian court on Thursday appointed a new lawyer to represent the only militant suspect captured during last years attacks on Mumbai. Advocate Abbas Kazmi was tasked with the defence of Pakistani national Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, a day after the high-profile trial started in disarray with a previous lawyer dismissed by the trial judge because of a conflict of interest. The 21-year-old Kasab, said to belong to the banned Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), faces a string of charges including waging war on India, murder, attempted murder and kidnapping. I am willing to appear for the accused, Kazmi told the judge, saying it was important to show that India - while still in shock over the attacks - can put on a fair trial. It is an honour, as we must present a stable and democratic view of our nation, he said, before asking for government protection. I am concerned about my safety, he admitted to reporters. The trial, seen as a major test of the Indian justice system, has been dogged by the issue of who should defend Kasab. The Mumbai Metropolitan Magistrate Courts Bar Association has resolved not to represent him, while some lawyers who said they were willing to take on the case had their homes attacked. The Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena party also called for Kasab to be executed without trial outside the Mumbai railway station where he and another militant are accused of massacring scores of commuters. Anjali Waghmare, the wife of a police officer whose colleagues died in the attacks, had been appointed from a panel of state legal aid lawyers on March 30. But she was denounced by the trial judge for acting in a compensation case for a victim wounded during the deadly attacks as well as accepting the brief to defend Kasab. Two other men, Indian nationals Fahim Ansari, 35, and Sabauddin Ahmed, 24, are also on trial, accused of providing the group with logistical support before the attacks. Prosecutors say they have evidence that undoubtedly and conclusively links the attacks to Indias arch-rival Pakistan, including mobile and satellite phone communication between the gunmen and their LeT handlers.