Pakistan court orders release of 26/11 mastermind Lakhvi

A court in Pakistan on Thursday ordered the immediate release of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack's alleged mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) dismissed the detention orders of Lakhvi, one of the key accused in the terror siege and ordered his immediate release, Dawn online reported.

The court was hearing a petition of Lakhvi challenging his fourth one-month detention ordered by the Punjab government last month.

The Punjab government had previously maintained the stance that Lakhvi has been detained based on "sensitive information" provided by intelligence agencies.

Justice Anwarul Haq directed the government's counsel to submit records of the information to the court, which was also presented in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the past based on which the Islamabad High Court ordered Lakhvi's bail.

The court upheld the stance that if this sensitive information was reliable, the Islamabad High Court would not have accepted Lakhvi's bail.

Therefore, the Lahore High Court ordered Lakhvi's release based on the lack of reliability of the sensitive information provided and directed Lakhvi to pay Pakistani Rs.20 lakh ($1,962) in surety bonds to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi where he is lodged.

Lakhvi is among the seven people charged with planning and helping carry out the 2008 Mumbai attacks that left 166 people dead. The six other men facing trial in Adiala Jail for their alleged involvement in the attacks are Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Younas Anjum, Jamil Ahmed, Mazhar Iqbal and Abdul Majid.

At the time of the attacks, Lakhvi was believed to be the operational head of the banned Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT). Lashar has been accused by India of carrying out the attacks in the country's financial capital.