BJP condemns bail for LeT commander by Pak anti-terror court

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday strongly condemned the granting of bail to top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander and 26/11 accused Zaki Ur Rehman Lakhvi, stating that this actions proves that Pakistan is indulging in double standards as far as taking a stand on terrorism is concerned.

"Lakhvi was the handler of the Mumbai terror attacks and was present in Pakistan at the time of the incident. Paper trails have established that he was involved. This was an incident in which over 200 people were killed. It was a dark day in Indian history and we got to see another manifestation of such an attack when this week, terrorists had struck in Peshawar," Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy told the media.

"On one hand, Pakistan claims that it wants to eradicate terrorism, but on the other hand Lakhvi has been released by a court in that nation. I feel that this double standard by Pakistan is dangerous and the world must understand this," he added.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan's anti-terror court granted bail to Lakhvi. According to reports in The Dawn, Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency's prosecutor had disagreed with the bail plea, but the court released Lakhvi with surety bonds worth Pakistan Rs 5,00,000.

Lakhvi is one of the prime accused in the terror attacks that took place in Mumbai in 2008, in which 161 people were killed, with over 600 people injured. Indian security agencies also accuse him of overseeing the 2006 train bombings in Mumbai, that saw over 200 casualties.