ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday ordered the anti-terrorism court (ATC) to conclude in two months a terrorism case against Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged Mumbai attack mastermind.

A division bench, headed by Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi, also bound the defence lawyers to ensure their presence in every hearing otherwise the high court would be left with no choice but to accept the federal government’s plea to cancel the bail granted to Lakhvi.

Read: US warns Pakistan over release of Lakhvi

ATC judge Syed Kausar Abbas Zaidi on December 18, 2014, granted post-arrest bail to Lakhvi. Later, the federal government issued Lakhvi’s detention orders that were further extended on January 18 and February 18 for 30 days each.

Subsequently, the government through the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) challenged the ATC decision in the high court and maintained that the trial court had ignored the testimony available with it in the Mumbai attacks case.

Special prosecutor Azhar Chaudhry and Abu Zar Pirzada appeared on behalf of the FIA and requested the high court to cancel the bail, arguing that the trial against Lakhvi would be concluded soon.

Also read: Lakhvi, a free man for now

The trial court has already recorded statements of 52 witnesses whereas the recording of evidence of another 22 witnesses will be completed soon, they added. But the prosecutors feared that Lakhvi could influence the witnesses if he was allowed to move freely.

Advocates Raja Rizwan Abbasi and Sohail Warraich, representing Lakhvi, argued that not a single witness had ever pointed finger against their client while deposing statements before the trial court.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play