Headlines
Mumbai terror strike accused Lakhvi released from jail
Islamabad, April 10
Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the
prime accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that claimed 166 lives,
was released from a jail in Pakistan on Friday, a day after a court
suspended his detention.
Lakhvi was released overnight from
Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi without any announcement by the jail
authorities or the Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD), the organisation that Lakhvi
was affiliated with, Geo TV reported.
JuD representatives were
present outside the prison to receive Lakhvi, who was shifted to an
unspecified location after his release, the sources added.
On
Thursday, the Lahore High Court (LHC) quashed Lakhvi's detention for the
fourth time, ordering him to be immediately released.
Lakhvi
moved the Lahore High Court, challenging his detention and claiming it
to be unlawful. His lawyers maintained in a petition that Lakhvi was
being kept in custody despite higher courts ending his detention.
The
Lahore High Court also accepted Lakhvi's bail application, ordering his
release on the submission of two bail bonds worth Pakistani Rs.1
million ($9,820) each.
Last month, the Islamabad High Court declared Lakhvi's detention illegal and ordered his release.
The Islamabad High Court order drew India's ire and prompted the Indian
external affairs ministry to summon Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul
Basit and lodge a protest with him.