Pakistan's FIA seeks cancellation of 26/11 mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi's bail

Pakistan's top investigative agency has approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to seek the cancellation of the bail of LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has filed an appeal in the IHC seeking cancellation of the post-arrest bail of Lakhvi. Hearing the appeal, a division bench of the IHC on Tuesday asked authorities to provide the record of the Mumbai attack case in two weeks.

The record of the case is currently with an Islamabad-based Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) which was holding trial of Lakhavi and other accused arrested in the case. Seven LeT suspects - Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum - are facing charges of abetment to murder, attempted murder, planning and executing the Mumbai attack since 2009.

The ATC on December 18, 2014, granted the post-arrest bail to Lakhvi and set him free. Lakhvi has been living in an undisclosed location since then. The FIA in its appeal argued that it has enough evidence against Lakhavi and his post-arrest bail should be cancelled so that he can be re-arrested and probed.

"In the present case, the learned trial judge (of ATC) after the terrorist attack in Islamabad courts (of March 2013) refused to visit Adiala Jail for a long time due to security reasons," the FIA said in its appeal against the ATC judge's order, Dawn reported.

"Even the prosecutors of this case have been receiving threats through cell phones during the proceedings which were duly conveyed to the concerned authorities. The witnesses are also not secured, and reluctant to depose against the accused persons in the given situation," it added.

The court after hearing the argument from the FIA and Lakhvi's lawyer ordered to provide the record of the case in two weeks. Some 166 people were killed in the attack carried out by 10 LeT men.

Nine of the attackers were killed by police while lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was caught and hanged after handed down death sentence by an Indian court. The Mumbai attack case has entered into the 11th year but none of its suspects in Pakistan has been punished yet. 

-PTI