Lok Sabha assails grant of bail to Lakhvi

Published December 20, 2014
Television journalists report from the premises of Parliament in New Delhi. — Reuters/File
Television journalists report from the premises of Parliament in New Delhi. — Reuters/File

NEW DELHI: India’s Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, on Friday passed a resolution condemning bail granted to alleged Mumbai terror planner Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, by a Pakistan Court and Prime Minister Narendra Modi said a strong message was conveyed to Pakistan.

According to the Indian Express, the resolution asks the government to take every step to put pressure on Pakistan to bring the matter related to the Mumbai nightmare to a satisfactory conclusion.

Earlier in the day, Mr Modi said in Parliament that India has “strongly conveyed” to Pakistan its opposition to bail for Lakhvi. He said in a statement that bail for the alleged conspirator was a big shock.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who will make a detailed statement in Parliament in Monday, said: “It’s hard to believe there is lack of evidence against Lakhvi. We demand that Pakistan reverse this decision. We are keeping an eye on this issue.”

Asserting “without doubt” that the conspiracy for Mumbai attack of 2008 was hatched in Pakistan, Ms. Swaraj said 99 per cent evidence is available in Pakistan and Pakistani investigators had six years to collect all evidence, according to the Express.

She said: “It is their (Pakistan’s) responsibility to ensure punishment to them (Mumbai attack accused) by furnishing evidence.”

Referring to the massacre of school children by terrorists in Peshawar on Tuesday, Ms. Swaraj said: “We felt the pain of the families whose loved ones were killed in the attack. That day not only were their children killed but a part of humanity also died.”

Immediately after, the Lok Sabha, which had passed a resolution on Wednesday against terror attack in Peshawar, adopted a resolution: “We express grave concern of the Indian people that just one day after the tragic killing of 141 innocent children and others in Peshawar, an accused terrorist could be released on bail by the same country.

“It seems that the lesson that there should be no compromise with terrorists has not been learnt.”

Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2014

Opinion

Editorial

Reserved seats
Updated 15 May, 2024

Reserved seats

The ECP's decisions and actions clearly need to be reviewed in light of the country’s laws.
Secretive state
15 May, 2024

Secretive state

THERE is a fresh push by the state to stamp out all criticism by using the alibi of protecting national interests....
Plague of rape
15 May, 2024

Plague of rape

FLAWED narratives about women — from being weak and vulnerable to provocative and culpable — have led to...
Privatisation divide
Updated 14 May, 2024

Privatisation divide

How this disagreement within the government will sit with the IMF is anybody’s guess.
AJK protests
14 May, 2024

AJK protests

SINCE last week, Azad Jammu & Kashmir has been roiled by protests, fuelled principally by a disconnect between...
Guns and guards
14 May, 2024

Guns and guards

THERE are some flawed aspects to our society that we must start to fix at the grassroots level. One of these is the...