Pak court grants bail to 26/11 accused Lakhvi : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

Pak court grants bail to 26/11 accused Lakhvi

ISLAMABAD: Lakhvi and six others had filed bail applications yesterday even as lawyers were observing strike to condemn the terrorist attack on an army-run school in Peshawar that left 148 people, mostly children, dead.

Pak court grants bail to 26/11 accused Lakhvi

LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi



Islamabad, December 18

LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, one the seven Pakistani nationals accused of planning and abetting the 26/11/2008 Mumbai terror attacks, was granted bail today by Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Court.

Lakhvi and six others had filed bail applications yesterday even as lawyers were observing strike to condemn the terrorist attack on an army-run school in Peshawar that left 148 people, mostly children, dead.

The FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) prosecutor disagreed with the bail request, however advocate Rizwan Abbasi, the lawyer representing Lakhvi stood before the court as the bail was approved, the Dawn reported.

The seven accused — Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum — are facing trial at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

Lakhvi, who was the operational head of the banned Laskhar-e-Taiba, was one of the key planners of the Mumbai attack that killed 166 people.

His release from jail comes a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif pledged to announce a “national plan” to tackle terrorism within a week, saying “this entire region” should be cleaned of terrorism.

Rajnath Singh blames Pakistan

Home Minister Rajnath Singh today blamed Pakistan for the bail granted to Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, saying there might be some shortcomings on the part of the prosecution in taking forward the case.

Terming the bail to Lakhvi as “very unfortunate”, as it came just two days after the terror attack in Peshawar where over 130 schoolchildren were killed, he hoped that the Pakistan government will approach a higher court against the lower court order and ensure its cancellation.

“There might be some shortcomings on the part of the Pakistan government somewhere or could be due to some other reasons (the bail was granted),” he said at a hurriedly-called press briefing, hours after a Pakistani court gave bail to LeT operations commander Lakhvi, currently lodged at a jail.

According to Lakhvi’s counsel advocate Raja Rizwan Abbasi, bail was granted as “evidence against Lakhvi was deficient”.

Singh said India had pursued the Mumbai attacks case meticulously and that resulted in fast trial and delivery of justice to the case with the hanging of one of the terrorists Ajmal Kasab.

“But it is not happening in Pakistan. We have given enough evidence against the terrorists,” he said.

Meanwhile, India has told Pakistan that the release of Lakhvi, one of the key conspirators of the Mumbai terror attacks, on bail was unacceptable to it and demanded immediate steps for reversal of the decision.

In a sharp reaction to the bail granted to 54-year-old UN-designated terrorist by a Rawalpindi court, New Delhi told Islamabad that there could be no selective approach to terrorism, emphasising that it should realise that no compromise can ever be made with terrorists.

"We cannot accept that LeT's chief operation commander Zakiur Lakhvi, one of the key conspirators of the Mumbai terror attacks in which so many innocent people were slaughtered, a person designated as an international terrorist by the UNSC, is being released on bail," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said. — PTI

Top News

Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in UP's Banda orders judicial inquiry into death of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari

UP court orders judicial probe into gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s death

Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari on Tuesday alleged that his brother...

‘Heart attack or poisoning’: The life and times of Mukhtar Ansari—crime and politics

‘Heart attack or poisoning’: The life and times of Mukhtar Ansari—crime and politics

Eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh are among the poorest regions...

Alka Rai, widow BJP MLA killed by Mukhtar Ansari, says 'justice has been served', visits Ram Mandir

Alka Rai, widow BJP MLA killed by Mukhtar Ansari, says 'justice has been served', visits Ram Mandir

Alka Rai is the wife of MLA Krishanand Rai, who was shot dea...

Cash-strapped Congress gets fresh IT notice of Rs 1,700 crore, say party insiders

Cash-strapped Congress gets fresh I-T notice of Rs 1,800 crore

Ajay Maken addresses a press conference

CBI files chargesheet against 20 institutes, 105 individuals in Himachal Pradesh multi-crore scholarship scam

CBI files chargesheet against 20 institutes, 105 individuals in Himachal Pradesh multi-crore scholarship scam

22 educational institutions were on CBI radar in the scholar...


Cities

View All