Move to release Lakhvi 'politically motivated': Defence expert Kamal Chinoy

Defence expert Kamal Mitra Chinoy on Thursday expressed concern over the Lahore High Court's decision to release prime Mumbai terror blasts accused Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi saying that the latter should be handed over to India.

Chinoy said that Pakistan's 'tactic' of using terrorism as a means to 'soften up' the Indo-Kashmir border support would not work.

"It (the move) is obviously politically motivated and the Americans have also said that Lakhvi should be handed over to the Indians because you must not forget that in 26/11, three Americans were killed and incidentally, all three Americans were Jews. India has had Jews since the 6th Century, but no Jew has ever been touched," he told ANI.

"Pakistan's tactic of using terrorists to soften up the Indo-Kashmir border and to get Kashmiri support is not going to work. Even the Kashmiri radicals don't want to join Pakistan. They want Autonomous Kashmir... so they are not going to win this game", he added.

Earlier in the day, the Lahore High Court struck down the detention order of Lakhvi and ordered his release.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Lakhvi challenging his fourth one-month detention ordered by the Okara DCO on March 14

The court ordered his release based on the lack of reliability of the sensitive information provided and also directed the accused to pay 20 lakh rupees in surety bonds to Adiala jail.

Lakhvi is among seven people charged with planning and carrying out the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.