Mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and lashkar-e-Tayyeba commander Zaki-ur-Rehman lakhvi may soon be able to walk free after the Islamabad High Court suspended the Pakistan Government’s three-month detention order against him. The development caused an uproar in India which also conveyed “strong concern” at the lack of effective action by Pakistan’s prosecuting authorities in challenging lakhvi’s release.
lakhvi submitted his Pakistani Rs 1 million surety bond on Monday and is likely to be released anytime now. “We have submitted the surety bond worth Rs 1 million in the court,” lakhvi’s counsel Raja Rizwan Abbasi told PTI, adding that he is likely to be released from Adiala Jail anytime now.
Upset over the latest development in Pakistan, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh on Monday summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit to convey India’s “strong concern” and apprehensions.
While saying that there seems to be no end in sight to Pakistan remaining a safe haven for terror groups, a concerned India has conveyed that it expects Pakistan to abide by the commitment conveyed to it over getting justice for Mumbai terror victims.
The Indian High Commission too took up the issue with the Pakistan Foreign Office in Islamabad. India feels that the Pakistani Government is not taking prompt and sufficient steps to bring lakhvi to justice and he will be able to walk free due to the slack attitude of the Pakistani prosecutors.
India is also upset over the fact that the Pakistan Government, which on one side has vowed to take strong steps against terrorists on its soil, did not even have its lawyer present in court on Monday to oppose lakhvi’s claims in High Court and the order was passed ex-parte.
“Basit was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs by the Foreign Secretary in the afternoon. The Foreign Secretary conveyed strong concern at the lack of effective action by Pakistan’s prosecuting authorities after the Anti-Terrorism-Court ordered the release of internationally designated terrorist lakhvi, whose involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks, is well known,” said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.
“It was once again conveyed that we expect the Pakistan Government to abide by the commitment conveyed to us, including at the highest level, that expeditious steps would be taken to bring all those responsible for the heinous acts of terrorism in Mumbai to justice and that it was extremely disturbing that despite the assurances...
“We have been receiving over the last six years, and the recent tragedies in Pakistan, there seems to be no end in sight to Pakistan remaining a safe-haven for well-known terror groups,” said Akbaruddin.
lakhvi is among the seven Pakistani nationals accused of planning and abetting the Mumbai terror attack in 2008. He was recently given bail, after being detained for five years at a stretch, by an Anti-Terror Court in Pakistan for lack of evidence over his involvement in the Mumbai terror act. Following international uproar over the bail, lakhvi was, however, kept under detention for three more months under Maintenance of Public Order MPO. lakhvi, however, challenged the Government’s order in Islamabad High Court. Judge Noorul Haq Qureshi suspended lakhvi’s detention after hearing his lawyer’s arguments, as the Government’s law officer did not turn up for the hearing. The court has directed the Pakistani Government to file a reply in this regard on the next hearing in the case on January 15. This could mean that lakhvi can walk free.
In Mumbai, Ujjwal Nikam, the prosecutor who led the trial in the 26/11 case, said India should appeal to the United Nations against the current Islamabad High Court order. “The Pakistanis are playing with us. I am constrained to say this as lakhvi was bound to challenge the decision claiming he was granted bail on merit and he is not able to get the benefit of bail. This means that the Pakistani court was satisfied with lakhvi’s argument. This order was passed ex-parte. Why did the Pakistani Government not oppose the suspension order when lakhvi had publicly announced that he would challenge itIJ This exposes the Pakistani Government’s double standards.” Nikam said.