Pak court grants bail to Lakhvi
A Pakistani court yesterday granted bail to the alleged mastermind of the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, lawyers told AFP, a move likely to further inflame tensions with India.
The 60-hour siege on India's economic capital left 166 people dead and was blamed on the banned Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
Relations between the two nuclear-armed rivals worsened dramatically after the carnage, in which 10 gunmen attacked luxury hotels, a popular cafe, a train station and a Jewish centre.
Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, accused of masterminding the violence, was granted bail by a judge in the capital Islamabad.
"We had moved a bail application with the Islamabad anti-terror court on December 10, today the judge granted bail to my client after hearing arguments from both sides," Lakhvi's lawyer Rizwan Abbasi told AFP.
Prosecutor Mohammad Chaudhry Azhar confirmed the court had granted bail.
Meanwhile, India's home ministry yesterday reacted strongly to the granting of bail to Lakhvi by the court.
The ministry said it was very unfortunate, especially since it came just days after the massacre in Peshawar in which 132 children lost their lives, reports TNN.
It said Pakistan must appeal in the next court. "Pakistan needs to show more seriousness in taking the 26/11 case trial to its logical conclusion," the ministry added.
Pakistan's PM Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday announced that a six-year moratorium on the death penalty would be lifted for those convicted of terror offences.
The horror of the Mumbai carnage played out on live television around the world, as commandos battled the heavily-armed gunmen, who arrived by sea on the evening of November 26.
Delhi has accused Islamabad of prevaricating over the trials, while Pakistan has claimed India failed to hand over crucial evidence.
The sole surviving gunman from Mumbai, Pakistani-born Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, was hanged in India in 2012.
The attacks traumatised India, exposing the antiquated weapons and methods of the local police force and revealing crucial gaps in the country's defences.
They also derailed a nascent peace process between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.
In the wake of the Peshawar massacre on Tuesday, Sharif said Pakistan would not distinguish between "good Taliban and bad Taliban" as it seeks to crush the scourge of homegrown Islamist militancy.
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