US Congressman Ed Royce asks Pakistan to give Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi to India

NEW DELHI: Slamming Pakistan for its failure to control terrorism, senior US Congressman Ed Royce on Tuesday asked Islamabad to either hand over Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi to India or present terror operative to the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Without naming Lakhvi, Royce, who is Chairman of the US House Foreign Relations Committee, said Pakistan must bring to justice Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists involved in 26/11 case and quipped how Lakhvi is taking visitors instead of facing action.

“The same individual (Lakhvi) today is taking visitors and is not being brought to court of justice. What I called for is that Pakistan should turn that individual over to India or if Pakistan will not do that, then turn him to International Criminal Court in The Hague where he will be tried for crimes against humanity,” Royce said.

Leading a bipartisan delegation of US House of Representatives, Royce is on a three-day visit following up President Barack Obama’s January visit. Royce met Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh on Monday and discussed various issues, including threat of terrorism in the region and role of LeT in exporting terror.

Lakhvi and six others have been charged with planning and executing the Mumbai attack in November 2008. A Pakistani anti-terrorism court last month had adjourned for a month the hearing on the government's appeal against the bail granted to Lakhvi by the trial court. Royce, however, claimed that the Nawaz Sharif government in Pakistan is sincere than the Army to combat terror.

Identifying terrorism as a major threat facing the region, Royce slammed ISI, saying there was a need to strengthen the civilian government while trying to dissuade the Pakistani spy agency from types of conduct it had been engaged in.