A Pakistani court on Thursday ordered the release of incarcerated Lashkar-e-Toiba operative and alleged mastermind in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, prompting India to convey its disappointment to the neighbouring country.
New Delhi is set to once again convey to Islamabad that if Lakhvi is allowed to come out of jail, it would go against efforts to create a conducive atmosphere for resumption of bilateral dialogue.
“Our concerns on this issue have been made known to the Government of Pakistan in the past. These shall be reiterated,” Syed Akbaruddin, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said in New Delhi.
Justice Muhammad Anwarul Haq of Lahore High Court on Thursday suspended the detention of 55-year-old Lakhvi under Maintenance of Public Order.
The court’s decision came after the Pakistan Government failed to present sensitive records against him. The judge ordered Lakhvi to submit two surety bonds worth Rs 1 million each for his release, PTI reported from Islamabad.
The judge had, on April 7, directed the Pakistan Government’s counsel to submit record of secret documents about activities of Lakhvi, who had challenged the March 14 order of Punjab province government to detain him for 30 days.
Lakhvi is among the seven LeT operatives whom the Pakistan government had put in jail after an investigation by its own probe agency revealed that they had played key roles in planning and coordinating the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. The investigation by Federal Investigation Agency of Pakistan and subsequent arrest of the seven LeT operatives had come amid intense diplomatic pressure from New Delhi following the attacks, which left over 170 people killed and countless others maimed. The trial of the seven, however, proceeded at a snail’s pace over the years.
Lakhvi and several other LeT leaders were all individually designated by the US as terrorists in May 2008.
“The fact is that known terrorists not being effectively prosecuted constitutes a real security threat for India and the world. This also erodes the value of assurances repeatedly conveyed to us with regard to cross-border terrorism,” Akbaruddin added.