A day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered the release of alleged Mumbai attacks mastermind Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi, the Punjab government on Saturday issued orders to keep the Lashkar-e-Taiba commander in detention for one month.
The IHC on Friday had ordered Lakhvi’s release by declaring his detention illegal.
On December 18, 2014, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Mujahid Sherdil issued Lakhvi’s detention orders under the Maintenance of Public Order, which was subsequently extended for a third time. The prime objective of the detention was to prevent Lakhvi from attending any public meeting and potentially regrouping with his militant outfit.
Lakhvi’s lawyer Rizwan Abbasi argued that an anti-terrorism court had granted bail to his client but the government was flouting the court orders by not releasing him.
On Friday, the United States had also asked Pakistan to implement its commitment to bring the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks to justice after the IHC ordered Lakhvi’s release.
“The government of Pakistan has pledged its cooperation in bringing the perpetrators — financiers, and sponsors of the Mumbai terrorist attacks to justice and we urge Pakistan to follow through on that commitment,” State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters in Washington.
“We are monitoring reports that an Islamabad high court judge suspended detention orders for the alleged Mumbai attack mastermind,” she said.
“For now he remains in prison,” Psaki said.
“Pakistan is a critical partner in a fight against terrorism. We’ve certainly seen these reports (of a court granting bail to Lakhvi), but we can’t speculate on the outcome of an ongoing legal process.”