The Islamabad high court on Monday suspended Laskhar-e-Taiba terrorist and key 26/11 handler Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi's detention under the Maintenance of Public Order . The detention was ordered after Islamabad came under fire for leaving loopholes in the 26/11 case against Lakhvi (54) that allowed him to get bail on December 17. The bail provoked outrage and raised questions about Pakistan's resolve to fight terrorism a day after it suffered the worst terrorist attack on an army-run school in Peshawar in which around 150 people, mostly kids, were killed.
In Delhi, India summoned Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit to protest suspension of Lakhvi's detention. The Indian mission in Islamabad also took up the issue with the Pakistan foreign office. The high court suspended Lakhvi’s three-month detention in response to his petition, challenging it days after an anti-terrorism court ordered his bail.
The 26/11 attacks handler had moved the court on Friday after the government rejected his release plea. Lakhvi’s lawyer Raja Rizwan Abbasi told the high court his client’s detention was unlawful. “The court had previously accepted Lakhvi’s bail, but the government unlawfully detained him in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail,” he told the court. “The granting of bail is an issue of fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution and the administration violates it through unlawful detention of my client.” Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi suspended Lakhvi’s detention even as his counsel requested the high court to annul his detention orders. He directed the government to file a reply at the next hearing in the case on January 15 even as the concerned law officer did not turn up for the hearing.
The 26/11 case has been moving at a snail's pace in Pakistan with almost no headway. Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist who was caught and later executed for the Mumbai attacks, had named Lakhvi as his trainer. Abu Jandal, an Indian national arrested and deported from Saudi Arabia in June 2012, too confessed he was in the control room with Lakhvi in Karachi monitoring the Mumbai attacks.
Pakistani-American David Headley, who had visited India ahead of 26/11, too had named Lakhvi for his role in 26/11. Observers believe Lakhvi’s issue highlights Pakistan’s doublespeak on terrorism while it claims its war on terror was against terrorists of all hues.
In Delhi, India summoned Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit to protest suspension of Lakhvi's detention. The Indian mission in Islamabad also took up the issue with the Pakistan foreign office. The high court suspended Lakhvi’s three-month detention in response to his petition, challenging it days after an anti-terrorism court ordered his bail.
The 26/11 attacks handler had moved the court on Friday after the government rejected his release plea. Lakhvi’s lawyer Raja Rizwan Abbasi told the high court his client’s detention was unlawful. “The court had previously accepted Lakhvi’s bail, but the government unlawfully detained him in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail,” he told the court. “The granting of bail is an issue of fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution and the administration violates it through unlawful detention of my client.” Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi suspended Lakhvi’s detention even as his counsel requested the high court to annul his detention orders. He directed the government to file a reply at the next hearing in the case on January 15 even as the concerned law officer did not turn up for the hearing.
The 26/11 case has been moving at a snail's pace in Pakistan with almost no headway. Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist who was caught and later executed for the Mumbai attacks, had named Lakhvi as his trainer. Abu Jandal, an Indian national arrested and deported from Saudi Arabia in June 2012, too confessed he was in the control room with Lakhvi in Karachi monitoring the Mumbai attacks.
Pakistani-American David Headley, who had visited India ahead of 26/11, too had named Lakhvi for his role in 26/11. Observers believe Lakhvi’s issue highlights Pakistan’s doublespeak on terrorism while it claims its war on terror was against terrorists of all hues.
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