Parliament condemns bail to Lakhvi

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 19

Indian Parliament on Friday passed a resolution condemning the bail granted to Lashkar-e-Toiba operations commander and key planner of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, while expressing concern at the delay in his prosecution and blaming the “pathetic” attitude of the Pakistan government that resulted in the bail.

Lakhvi was granted bail by a court in Islamabad on Thursday. 

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan read out the resolution drafted with consensus of all parties. It said, “We express grave concern of the Indian people that just two days after an attack (in Peshawar) a terrorist could be released on bail. It seems the lesson that there will be no compromise on terror has not been learnt.”

The resolution which conveyed a sense of Parliament said Pakistan must ensure than such a terrorist was not released. It went on to talk about the flourishing terror haven in Pakistan, saying, “We reiterate that Pakistan must remove all infrastructure of terrorism, and [ensure] terrorists are not allowed to continue with their activities.”

Earlier in the Lok Sabha, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said, “I demand Pakistan immediately reverse the bail,” adding, “We can say with surety that the Mumbai attack conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan and that 99 per cent of the evidence is also in Pakistan. Their agencies had six years to gathered that evidence.”

“By giving bail to Lakhvi, the Pakistani government has made a joke of its commitment to fight terror without being selective,” she added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in the Lok Sabha the release on bail of Lakhvi had come as a “shock to all those who believe in humanity”.
India’s approach towards Pakistan on the issue was in tune with the sentiments expressed by Indian MPs, who had voiced outrage in the House earlier in the day.

Lakhvi is among the seven persons charged with planning and helping carry out the November 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people lost their lives.

The other six facing trial and lodged in a jail at Rawalpindi for their alleged involvement in the Mumbai attack are Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Younas Anjum, Jamil Ahmed, Mazhar Iqbal and Abdul Majid.

At the time of the attack, Lakhvi was believed to be the operational head of the banned Laskhar-e-Toiba (LeT) that has been accused by India of carrying out the attacks in the country’s financial capital.

In December 2008, the United Nations Security Council committee looking into the sanctions on Al-Qaeda and the Taliban had added the name of Lakhvi to its list of terrorists and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.