The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday sent back case record of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the main accused of 2008 Mumbai attack, to Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) and remarked that it would summon Lakhvi, in person when required.
A division bench of Islamabad High Court (IHC) comprising Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi and Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui heard a petition filed by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) pleading the court to cancel the bail granted to Lakhvi by the ATC.
During the course of proceeding, the FIA’s prosecutor Mohammad Azhar Chaudhry requested the bench to send back the vase record to ATC, adding that the case proceedings in trial court stopped as the record is present in the high court.
Upon which, the bench ordered that all record of the case be sent back to the trial court.
Advocate Rizwan Abbasi counsel for Lakhvi pleaded before the court to summon Lakhvi.
The bench further said that the court is aware of security situation and would summon Lakhvi, in person when required.
Later, the proceeding of the matter was adjourned till second week of March.
Earlier, FIA pleaded that prosecution in terrorism related cases is not an easy task and delay in prosecution of the suspects could not be attributed to the FIA prosecution alone.
Moreover, the witnesses in this case also felt hesitant to testify against the accused due to security apprehensions.
The FIA further pleaded that delay in prosecution of this case could be numerous applications before the ATC by the suspects.
The FIA argued that ATC judge overlooked the evidence submitted in the court by FIA. The FIA had submitted forensic evidence and DNA reports.
The petition said that ATC judge had not mentioned solid reasons for granting bail to Lakhvi. Therefore, FIA prayed to the IHC to cancel the bail of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
