"India rejects Lakhvi's release on bail"
"I would like to inform the House through you that we have already made our position on this issue clear to the Pakistan authorities. Upon receiving the report of the bail plea having been granted, the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad contacted the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan and conveyed our position in clear and unambiguous terms," she said in the Lok Sabha on Friday.
"We do not accept the fact that LeT’s chief operation commander Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, who is one of the main masterminds of the Mumbai terror attacks and a person who has been designated an international terrorist by the UNSC, be released on bail," Swaraj said.
"We reject the contention that there is inadequate evidence to prosecute him and his fellow conspirators. There is no doubt in anyone`s mind that the Mumbai terror attack conspiracy was planned, financed, and trained for in Pakistan. 99% of the evidence is available in Pakistan itself, and it is the duty of the Pakistan’s investigative authorities, who have had six years to collect and present the evidence required, to secure a conviction," the Minister said.
In a strong message to Pakistan, Swaraj said: "The grant of bail to Lakhvi makes absolute mockery of the Government of Pakistan’s professed commitment to fight terror groups without hesitation and without making false distinctions. It will only reassure those who perpetrated the recent heinous attack in Peshawar that they too will be allowed to continue their activities unabated. We urge the Government of Pakistan to immediately take steps to reverse this decision. "
She said India is currently watching the reaction of the Pakistan authorities.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said in Parliament that India has conveyed strong concerns to Pakistan on the issue of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi’s bail.
PM Modi said that India had felt pain no less than Pakistan over the dastardly act of terror in which as many as 148 school children were killed in Peshawar this week.
Lakhvi was the key accused for the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai in 2008.
An anti-terror court in Islamabad granted bail to Lakhvi on Thursday citing lack of adequate evidence against him, sources said.
The Pakistan government, however, said that it would appeal against the bail of Lakhvi in the Supreme Court.
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