India summons Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit

NEW DELHI: India summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit on Monday to register its protest against the Islamabad High Court’s upholding of the bail given to 26/11 mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.

Delhi’s sharp reaction came hours after the Islamabad court suspended the Pakistani government order to detain Lakhvi after a Lahore court had granted him bail last week in cases related to the 26/11 carnage. While Pakistan’s defence has been that the government cannot interfere with the courts, New Delhi’s stand is that Islamabad had deliberately weakened its case against 26/11 perpetrators, a reason why Lakhvi is getting bail.

Report s from Pakistan suggested that the lawyer representing the government didn’t turn up at Monday’s hearing, which bolsters India’s argument that Pakistan is not serious about bringing the perpetrators of 26/11 to justice.

Meanwhile, Ujjwal Nikam, the prosecutor who led the trial in the 26/11 case that eventually led to the hanging of the sole Lashkar-e-Taiba fidayeen captured, said that India should approach the UN against Lakhvi’s bail.

Former High Commissioner to Pakistan G Parthasarathy told ET that the Nawaz Sharif government in Pakistan will not take tough action against Lashkar operatives. He said Lashkar chief Hafiz Saeed and Lakhvi not only enjoy the support of Pakistan military but also of Nawaz Sharif and his family. “Nawaz Sharif has been offering special treatment to Saeed in all his tenures as the PM,” noted the senior diplomat.

A Pakistani anti-terror court on December 18 had granted bail to Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, sparking outrage in India within two days of the ghastly terror attack on a Peshawar school. The following day, Lakhvi was detained by Pakistani authorities for three more months, under a Maintenance of Public Order Act.

Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi is among the seven Pakistani nationals accused of planning and abetting the terror attack in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, that left 166 dead, including foreigners.

Islamabad High Court judge Noorul Haq Qureshi suspended Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi’s detention under the Maintenance of Public Order Act after hearing his lawyer’s arguments. The high court directed the Pakistani government to file a reply in this regard on next hearing in the case on January 15.