A Pakistani court today set free Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, the 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind and LeT operations commander, a development which India said "eroded" the value of assurances repeatedly conveyed to it by Pakistan on cross-border terrorism.
Justice Muhammad Anwarul Haq of Lahore High Court (LHC) suspended the detention of 55-year-old Lakhvi under Maintenance of Public Order after the government failed to present sensitive records against him in the court.
The judge ordered Lakhvi to submit two surety bonds worth Rs 1 million each for his release.
"The law officer had submitted important information about Lakhvi, but the court did not accept this and declared the evidence unsatisfactory," an official of LHC told PTI.
Justice Muhammad Anwarul Haq on the last hearing on April 7 had directed the government's counsel to submit record of secret documents about activities of Lakhvi today.
Lakhvi had challenged the March 14 order of Punjab government's District Coordination Officer, Okara to detain him for 30 days.
Reacting to the development, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said "our concerns on this issue have been made known to the Government of Pakistan in the past. These shall be reiterated".
"The fact is that known terrorists not being effectively prosecuted constitutes a real security threat for India and the world. This also erodes the value of assurances repeatedly conveyed to us with regard to cross-border terrorism," he said in New Delhi.
The Home Ministry also said it was an "extremely disappointing development" and asked Islamabad to immediately ensure that Lakhvi does not come out of jail.
"This is an extremely disappointing development. Pakistan must ensure that terrorists like Lakhvi do not come out of jail," a senior Home Ministry official said.
"Pakistan should immediately take all legal measures at appropriate forum to ensure that justice is delivered to the victims of Mumbai terror attack," the official said.
Lakhvi and six others - Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum - have been charged with planning and executing the Mumbai attack in November, 2008 that left 166 people dead.
Lakhvi, a close relative of LeT founder and Jamaat-Ud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, was arrested in December 2008 and was indicted along with the six others on November 25, 2009 in connection with the 26/11 attack case. The trial has been underway since 2009.
