Lakhvi release: India summons Pak envoy, lodges strong protest

An "extremely upset" India today summoned the Pakistan High Commissioner here and lodged a strong protest against a Pakistani court order to release LeT terrorist and Mumbai attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, saying it was Islamabad's responsibility to ensure that Lakhvi does not come out of jail.
The officiating Foreign Secretary Anil Wadhwa summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit to South Block and conveyed India's unhappiness over the order in strong words. Wadhwa is officiating as the Foreign Secretary in absence of S Jaishankar, who is travelling with the Prime Minister.
The matter was also "raised at high levels" in Pakistan through Indian High Commission, official sources said.

Blaming Pakistan for the Islamabad High Court order to release Lakhvi, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju told reporters that Islamabad did not produce the evidence against him despite having enough of it.
"Pakistan did not present the evidence before the court...The way the case has been handled by Pakistani agencies. Our concern is Pakistan should deal with terrorists in a manner in which the whole global community is looking at," Rijiju said, adding "There is no bad or good terrorists, a fact which has been globally accepted".
India's reaction came within hours of the Islamabad High Court declaring as void the detention order of the LeT operations commander Lakhvi, who was also the 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind, and ordering his immediate release.