India outraged over Lakhvi's release

India on Friday summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit to convey its outrage at the release of 26/11 mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.

Basit was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) soon after the Islamabad High Court ruled that Lakhvi’s detention is illegal.

“This goes against Pakistan’s professed commitment to combat terrorism, including its recently stated policy of not differentiating amongst terrorists,” said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin. After his meeting with the MEA officials, Basit said: “He may have been granted bail but as you know the trial continues. We are all working to complete the trial. Let the judicial process take its course.”

In the past, New Delhi had accused Islamabad of not pursuing the legal process seriously enough to punish the perpetrators of the 26/11 attacks.

Indian investigators had submitted voice samples and other evidence as proof of Lakhvi’s role in the 26/11 attacks as he was found talking on satellite phones to the 10 terrorists who sailed into Mumbai and attacked some of its famous landmarks.

“If such a person, who is a designated international terrorist by the United Nations, is released, it will pose a threat that cannot be ignored,” Akbaruddin added.

India also said that it is Pakistan’s responsibility to ensure that Lakhvi did not come out of jail. “The overwhelming evidence against Lakhvi has not been presented properly before the court by Pakistani agencies. There are no good terrorists or bad terrorists,” Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said here.

In December, Lakhvi was granted bail by an anti-terror court two days after a terror attack on a school in Peshawar in which over 140 people, mostly students, were killed. That time, too, New Delhi summoned Pakistan envoy to convey its displeasure.

The Pakistani anti-terror court had held that there was no evidence to prove Lakhvi’s involvement in the Mumbai terror attack. Presumably because of the diplomatic pressure, the Pakistan government was forced to detain him again.

But based on an appeal by his lawyers, the high court suspended the detention. The government then challenged the Islamabad High Court order in Pakistan’s Supreme Court, which in January ordered that Lakhvi would stay in jail.

Lakhvi is one of the seven people on trial in Pakistan for the siege of Mumbai. India has repeatedly warned Pakistan that the slow pace of trial is unacceptable and undermines Pakistan’s stated position on checking terrorism.