26/11 plotter Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi given 3 concurrent jail terms of 5 years
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Friday convicted and sentenced LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi on charges of terror financing, but India dismissed the development as a “farcical” action taken with an eye on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
This is the first time Lakhvi, accused of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has been convicted of a terrorismrelated offence. However, a spokesperson for the Counter-Terrorism Department of Pakistan’s Punjab province told media he had been arrested for terror financing and not for any “specific militant attack”.
NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Friday convicted and sentenced Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi for terror financing, but India dismissed the move as a “farcical” action taken with an eye on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The anti-terrorism court in Lahore found Lakhvi guilty under three sections of the AntiTerrorism Act. The judge gave Lakhvi separate five-year prison terms under each section, to be served concurrently. He was also slapped a fine of Pakistani Rs 300,000 and faces 18 more months in jail if he failed to pay.
Lakhvi was present in court during the hearing and judge Ejaz Ahmad Buttar directed the police to send him to jail. This is the first time Lakhvi, mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has been convicted of a terrorism-related offence. But the Counter-Terrorism Department of Pakistan’s Punjab province said he was arrested for terror financing and not for any “specific militant attack”.
In New Delhi, external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said Pakistan’s “farcical actions” were aimed at an upcoming FATF review on terror financing and sought “credible action” by Pakistan against terror groups. “The timing of these actions clearly suggests the intention of conveying a sense of compliance ahead of the APG (Asia-Pacific Group) meeting and the next FATF plenary meeting in February. It has become routine for Pakistan to come up with such farcical actions prior to important meetings,” he said.