Voicing its “grave concern” over Pakistan’s release of 26/11 mastermind Zakiur Rehman lakhvi, the United States has asked Pakistan to fulfil its commitment to bring all perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attacks to justice. “Yes. We are gravely concerned,” State Department Acting Deputy Spokesperson Jeff Rathke told reporters, adding: “We have communicated that concern to senior Pakistani officials over the course of many months, and as recently as on Friday.”
Recalling Pakistan’s pledge of cooperation in bringing the perpetrators, financiers, and sponsors of the Mumbai attacks to justice, Rathke said: “We urge Pakistan to follow through on that commitment to ensure justice for the 166 innocent people, including six Americans, who lost their lives.” He sought to remind Islamabad that terrorist attacks are “an assault on the collective safety and security of all countries”.
The US comments came soon after reports on the release of lakhvi from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Friday, following orders from the lahore High Court, which held his detention illegal. Quizzed if Pakistan would be subjected to any consequences for not living up to its pledge, Rathke commented: “I’m not going to speculate about consequences or repercussions from the podium, but I think I’ve made clear that we’re, again, as I said, gravely concerned about this development.”
When a reporter wondered if US’s expression of “grave concern” without any talk of consequences would work with Pakistan, the spokesman said: “This has just happened in the last few hours. So of course we’re going to look at this development and decide what consequences to draw from it. But I’m not going to get ahead of that process.” For the United States, bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice remains “a key priority”, Rathke said, adding: “We stand by that. So we’ll continue working in that direction, but I don’t have any further specific steps to outline right now.”
Israel on Saturday said it was "surprised and disappointed" at the release of lakhvi and termed it a "setback for the international efforts in the war against terror in which India and Israel are close partners". Israeli Ambassador Daniel Carmon in New Delhi in a statement said, "Israel is surprised and disappointed by the release of Zakiur Rehman lakhvi, the mastermind of the Mumbai attack in which as part of the horrific attack also Israeli nationals and a Jewish Centre -- the Nariman House -- were targeted. This release is a setback for the international efforts in the war against terror in which India and Israel are close partners."