Lakhvi seeks exemption from appearing in court
Advocate Raja Rizwan Abbasi argued before the court that his client’s life is under threat and he might be assassinated while coming to or leaving the court
Zaki- ur Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai terror attacks, has sought exemption from appearance in the anti- terrorism court due to security reasons, officials said.
The ATC is scheduled to resume hearing of the Mumbai case on Wednesday.
ATC judge Sohail Ikram had issued notices on Monday to the Federal Investigation Agency ( FIA) seeking a reply on Lakhvi’s application.
Advocate Raja Rizwan Abbasi, counsel for Lakhvi, argued before the court that his client’s life is under threat and he might be assassinated while coming to or leaving the court.
Lakhvi is said to be an operational commander of banned militant outfit Lashkar- e- Tayyaba and the mastermind of the Mumbai terror attacks on November 26, 2008.
He was released in April on the orders of the Lahore high court. The government has challenged his release in the Supreme Court.
In a petition filed in the Supreme Court, the Punjab government maintains that there is sufficient evidence against Lakhvi but LHC’s justice Anwarul Haq ignored it and ordered his release on April 10. The Punjab government had previously maintained that Lakhvi had been detained based on “sensitive information” provided by intelligence agencies.
India has repeatedly expressed concern over Pakistan’s inability to prosecute the culprits in spite of New Delhi submitting, what it says, is detailed evidence.
Lakhvi is among the seven persons charged with planning and helping carry out the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The six other men facing trial in Adiala Jail for their alleged involvement in the attacks are Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Younas Anjum, Jamil Ahmed, Mazhar Iqbal and Abdul Majid.