Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who is accused of the terror siege in India’s commercial capital Mumbai, released from Adiala jail, Rawalpindi on Friday.
Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi freed on bail after Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday ordered the release of the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks from prison, following a tussle over his detention that has strained ties with India. Pakistani authorities have wrangled with the courts for nearly four months to keep Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, accused over the terror siege that left 166 dead, in custody.
He was granted bail in December, infuriating New Delhi, but hit with a detention order, which was cancelled and reinstated twice before the Lahore High Court ruling annulled it for a third time on Thursday. He has remained in prison throughout. “Justice Anwar-ul-Haq of the Lahore High Court today suspended detention orders of my client Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and ordered his release after submitting two surety bounds of one million (rupees) each,” his lawyer Rizwan Abbasi told.
“The honourable judge said it is unconstitutional to hold anybody without any proof for more than 90 days.”
Advocate General of Punjab Naveed Rasool confirmed the decision. “The honourable court has suspended detention orders of Lakhvi, we will see whatever legal options are available for us to review the decision,” he told.
Charges against Zaki-ur-Rehman
Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who is accused of the terror siege in India’s commercial capital Mumbai, was granted bail on December 18 by an Anti-Terror Court (ATC) but authorities later detained him under a public order law, which was suspended by the Islamabad High Court on December 29.
The Mumbai attacks left 166 people dead and were blamed on banned Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). India has long seethed at Pakistan’s failure to hand over or prosecute the accused planning and organizing terrorist attacks. Lakhvi and six other suspects have been charged in Pakistan but their cases have made virtually no progress in more than five years.
