Pakistan must realize there are no good terrorists or bad terrorists: India

NEW DELHI: As a court in Islamabad ordered the release of Lashkar terrorist Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, India today said it is the responsibility of Pakistan to keep him behind bars as there is overwhelming evidence of his role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

"It is the responsibility of the Pakistan government to take all legal measures to ensure that Lakhvi does not come out of jail. Pakistan should realise that there are no good terrorists and bad terrorists, a fact which has been globally accepted," a Home Ministry spokesperson said here.

The strong 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.

"The overwhelming evidence against Lakhvi regarding his role in the criminal conspiracy leading to the Mumbai attack has not been properly presented in the Pakistani court by the Pakistani agencies. This should be ensured without delay," the spokesperson said.

Justice Noorul Haq accepted 55-year-old Lakhvi's appeal filed against his third time detention orders and ordered his immediate release.

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 attacks in November, 2008 that left 166 people dead.