Lahore High Court orders Lakhvi's release

E-Paper | March 11, 2026

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday dismissed the detention orders of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, one of the key accused in the 2008 Mumbai attacks case, and ordered his release.

The court was hearing a petition of Lakhvi challenging his fourth one-month detention ordered by the Okara DCO on March 14.

The Punjab government had previously maintained the stance that Lakhvi has been detained based on 'sensitive information' provided by intelligence agencies.

Justice Anwarul Haq had directed the government's counsel to submit records of the information to the court, which was also presented in the Islamabad High Court in the past based on which the IHC had ordered Lakhvi's bail.

Also read: Court seeks ‘sensitive’ reports on Lakhvi

The court upheld the stance that if this sensitive information was reliable, the IHC would not have accepted Lakhvi's bail. Therefore, the LHC ordered Lakhvi's release based on the lack of reliability of the sensitive information provided and directed the accused to play Rs20 lakhs in surety bonds to Adiala jail.

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 Mumbai attacks are Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Younas Anjum, Jamil Ahmed, Mazhar Iqbal and Abdul Majid.

At the time of the attacks, Lakhvi was believed to be the operational head of the banned Laskhar-i-Taiba (LT) that has been accused by India of carrying out the attacks in India's financial capital.

Lakhvi along with Zarar Shah was allegedly the key planner of the attack that killed 166 people.

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Sanjoy Sankar Guha

Apr 09, 2015 03:27pm

This is release - not release on bail - I take it, for want of reliability of the sensitive information provided by the government.

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joy

Apr 09, 2015 03:29pm

no proof against' good terrorist'....indo-pak conflict will end when the sun dies....

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Kumar

Apr 09, 2015 03:34pm

As expected. There was never an intention to bring the perpetrators to justice. He is a good terrorist.

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Apr 09, 2015 03:35pm

Isnt that amazing! And we boast of our serious efforts to root out terrorism. Long way to go...

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Guru

Apr 09, 2015 03:38pm

Why does Pakistan make a yo-yo stance, like this? Lakhvi is out but in, all the time. Time for Pak to make-up its mind.

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anees from zaida

Apr 09, 2015 03:41pm

Shall I laugh? or cry?

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Factual

Apr 09, 2015 03:56pm

And the saga continues.....

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Express

Apr 09, 2015 03:57pm

Good decision - No need to get pressed from a neighbour

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Vyom

Apr 09, 2015 04:00pm

This is not fair Pakistan, disheartened now !!

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salman

Apr 09, 2015 04:05pm

very good decision by pak court. As we aspect.

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Kashmiri34

Apr 09, 2015 05:00pm

Good gesture...

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Ahmed

Apr 09, 2015 05:03pm

Why isn't he being tried in the military courts ?

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Shakeel

Apr 09, 2015 05:07pm

If the government has the evidence to convict the man, then they should do so. If they don't they should set him free. They are wasting courts time by using this as a political football. Perhaps the government could take time in between photo opportunities and sound bites to tighten up legislation if that is what is required.

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Aurora

Apr 09, 2015 05:20pm

In fact the lame civil administration can't dare provide & intends to prove to court despite having irrefutable evidence.Such cat & mouse legal game may continue on one pretext or the other. There is hardly any one in todays Pakistan who can take this culprit by his horns.

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Last Word

Apr 09, 2015 05:28pm

The state complicity in Mumbai attack is increasingly evident from the slow pace of trial and now finally releasing of the main accused. Why can't this case be transferred to the military court if the civil court is finding it too hot to handle ? Pakistan whose credibility has already been questioned by US and its neighbours several times will result in further straining of ties between the two countries permanently.

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DarthVader

Apr 09, 2015 06:31pm

And they say their army is fighting extremists. one day ur government rescues our people frm yemen and then there is hope and nxt day this.... india must oppose this and pm modi must take action. sad

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Karan

Apr 09, 2015 06:49pm

Ridiculous

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Raza

Apr 09, 2015 06:50pm

@anees from zaida "I guess we have to do both , laugh on the news and cry on our corrupt Country!!!"

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Iftikhar

Apr 09, 2015 07:02pm

As expected !

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raja

Apr 09, 2015 07:02pm

without solid evidence court can not do any thing.

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Elemental

Apr 09, 2015 07:04pm

Well this was bound to happen some day.

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Apr 09, 2015 07:07pm

I am not a lawyer. However, I am afraid, this decision would not contribute to a positive image of Pakistan in the world. The release of the accused Mr. Lakhvi would strengthen the notion of terror risks originating in Pakistan. This is also a blow to the efforts of Govt. and Army of Pakistan, who are sincerely fighting the terrorism in Pakistan.

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Dr Carla

Apr 09, 2015 07:13pm

@raja Who provides that solid evidence? If you believe it is not Lakhvi then it is Pak's responsibility to find the culprit.

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Prakash

Apr 09, 2015 07:16pm

Sad news for all peace-loving people of the sub-continent.

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Ahsan

Apr 09, 2015 07:26pm

It is a total Drama and scripted very well.

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dipak

Apr 09, 2015 07:43pm

wether you take action on lakhvi or not but his did has given a very very big blow to this country which is not counted.why cricketer or any major investor interesting in this country.why soldiers rangers common man or innocent children are being killed in this country. it is upto the people of this country to decide is this fair or not? we are writing bcos our innocent people are killed, plan was made from pakistani soil. the whole world is watching. short term benefit by killing innocent gives long long term damages.

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M.Saeed

Apr 09, 2015 07:43pm

Courts cannot prosecute without credible evidence. India should provide whatever evidence they have to Pakistani courts before throwing exasperation.

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Anwar Ahmad

Apr 09, 2015 08:26pm

Boys will be boys. They will not let go of recessive policies easily. As Mairaj Muhammad Khan used to say, "They have to kicked out.".

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Zak

Apr 09, 2015 08:29pm

Finally Justice. Holding an innocent man is a crime. NEW DELHI: a former home ministry officer has alleged that a member of the CBI-SIT team had accused incumbent governments of "orchestrating" the terror attack on Parliament and the 26/11 carnage in Mumbai.R V S Mani, who as home ministry under-secretary signed the affidavits submitted in court in the alleged encounter case, has said that Satish Verma, until recently a part of the CBI-SIT probe team, told him that both the terror attacks were set up "with the objective of strengthening the counter-terror legislation (sic)". Mani has said that Verma "...narrated that the 13.12. 2001(attack on Parliament) was followed by Pota (Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act) and 26/11 2008 (terrorists' siege of Mumbai) was followed by amendment to the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act)." Contacted by TOI, Verma refused to comment.

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Sanjoy Sankar Guha

Apr 09, 2015 08:33pm

Let not the knee jerk reactions of Indian readers be: this is anti-Indian and shows the biases inherent in Pakistan. Pakistan is a society with a lot of pulls and counter pulls and it is not easy for the judiciary to come out with judgement against an LET member, which though banned has as its sibling a popular organisation doing much social work. We have to understand why this is happening and hope that such processes will change as society changes and the thinking of the majority of people change. Till then, in the interests of amity and goodwill, we have to show understanding rather than be harshly judgemental. At least in these forums.

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Shab

Apr 09, 2015 08:48pm

And the frustration for the law abiding and innocent continues.

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Shamain 2015

Apr 09, 2015 08:53pm

Good decision

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Waseem

Apr 09, 2015 08:58pm

@Dr Carla you are assuming too much. If all evidences provided by India are put before the court, than this is probably the other side. The stories of Pakistani judicial commission being denied of cross verification of the Indian witness is very much well known. I wonder if any court in the world would accept a witness without cross examination, excluding North Korea, or famous Indian POTA courts.

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Waseem Sarwar

Apr 09, 2015 09:04pm

Well it's a court decision and if no solid evidence was presented against him in court, he should have been released earlier. I personally want to see JuD banned but public sentiments shouldn't force court in any matter. Sad but logical.

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malick

Apr 09, 2015 09:07pm

Historical decision of LHC.

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mayank

Apr 09, 2015 09:52pm

And people ask why we Indians dont show same hospitality or brotherhood to our Pakistani brothers as they do...

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Last Word

Apr 09, 2015 09:52pm

Pakistan for the sake of regional and peace at home should necessarily abandon the dual policy of fighting and supporting terrorism simultaneously.

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Zubaida Khan

Apr 09, 2015 09:56pm

@Kumar Who was convicted in the Godra attacks? 2600 died. And you made the perpetrator the PM.

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Zubaida Khan

Apr 09, 2015 09:57pm

@Raza What is corrupt? Do you want to detain people without evidence? No one has provided any evidence that Lakvi was involved. We cannot detain citizens just because.

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hindu girl

Apr 09, 2015 09:57pm

The evidence given by India, USA and Britain was not presented to the court.

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sandeep

Apr 09, 2015 10:00pm

I have lost all hope now..if I ever had any.

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Haider Rehman

Apr 09, 2015 10:02pm

@Kumar As a Pakistani, I strongly condemn this incident. But without evidence, nothing can be done. You would cry "We have evidence, Media showed it!" But remember Media also showed evidence of Modi G involvement in Gujarat riots.

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Haider Rehman

Apr 09, 2015 10:04pm

India should make SOLID evidence public if she thinks justice is not being done. As a Pakistani, I do sympathise the Terrorism India faced in Mumbai.

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Thakur

Apr 09, 2015 10:08pm

Thank you Pakistan! RAW gotta get into action.

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Apr 09, 2015 10:12pm

What drama... What emotions... Unfortunately ran short on actual action. This case is starting to feel like a C grade movie... served with stale popcorn.

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Maratha

Apr 09, 2015 10:16pm

@M.Saeed Dear Mr. M. Saeed, conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan so it was pakistan's responsibility to collect and present the evidence now India's. If you dont know this basic thing then best of luck to you. Please publish this

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Third Party

Apr 09, 2015 10:16pm

@raja Really ?? Typical self denial mode as always...!!!! What solid proof you want ??

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Zak

Apr 09, 2015 10:19pm

@Dr Carla here is the evidence; NEW DELHI: a former home ministry officer has alleged that a member of the CBI-SIT team had accused incumbent governments of "orchestrating" the terror attack on Parliament and the 26/11 carnage in Mumbai. R V S Mani, who as home ministry under-secretary signed the affidavits submitted in court in the alleged encounter case, has said that Satish Verma, until recently a part of the CBI-SIT probe team, told him that both the terror attacks were set up "with the objective of strengthening the counter-terror legislation (sic)". Mani has said that Verma "...narrated that the 13.12. 2001(attack on Parliament) was followed by Pota (Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act) and 26/11 2008 (terrorists' siege of Mumbai) was followed by amendment to the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act

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Third Party

Apr 09, 2015 10:19pm

@M.Saeed Really ??? May be you are not updated ...!! Sensitive data from 4 countries :USA, UK, India , France Intelligence have been provided . What else you want ????

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Third Party

Apr 09, 2015 10:21pm

@malick The same you would say about trial of the mastermind in Peshawar attacks which saw 170 innocent kids died !!!

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Naveed

Apr 09, 2015 10:38pm

@M.Saeed ... I am of the view this guy must be released, there is no evidence against him, the whole thing was stage managed by RAW.

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Naveed

Apr 09, 2015 10:38pm

@malick ... Agree

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Naveed

Apr 09, 2015 10:58pm

@Zak .... your right, there was nothing called 26/11, it is a stage managed show of RAW, Zaqvi is an innocent and a pious muslim. It is also an attempt to malign indian muslims

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maira

Apr 09, 2015 11:43pm

Spot on Zak.. Finally Justice. Holding an innocent man is a crime. NEW DELHI: a former home ministry officer has alleged that a member of the CBI-SIT team had accused incumbent governments of "orchestrating" the terror attack on Parliament and the 26/11 carnage in Mumbai.R V S Mani, who as home ministry under-secretary signed the affidavits submitted in court in the alleged encounter case, has said that Satish Verma, until recently a part of the CBI-SIT probe team, told him that both the terror attacks were set up "with the objective of strengthening the counter-terror legislation (sic)". Mani has said that Verma "...narrated that the 13.12. 2001(attack on Parliament) was followed by Pota (Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act) and 26/11 2008 (terrorists' siege of Mumbai) was followed by amendment to the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act)." Contacted by TOI, Verma refused to comment.

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Afzal Mir

Apr 09, 2015 11:48pm

It seems government's case was not based on credible evidence. It will be better for government not to deprive Lakhvi of his freedom just to please India.

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Okay

Apr 10, 2015 12:13am

courts have their own limitations and in Pakistan it comes under lots of state and non state oorganizations. judges have family too so lets respect that.

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Zak

Apr 10, 2015 12:24am

@joy indo -Pak conflict will end, when kashmir plebiscite is held.

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Biswajeet

Apr 10, 2015 12:26am

Why has our government not made public the evidence they gave pakistan, so we can decide whether the evidence is credible.

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Sameer Kashmiri

Apr 10, 2015 04:10am

@raja if you don't give solid evidence to the court. I t will not have solid evidence

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Kumar

Apr 10, 2015 06:10am

@Haider Rehman Media did not show that Modi was involved. Just because this is being repeated does not make it true.

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Yawar

Apr 10, 2015 06:44am

One can take any evidence and turn it into a weak or strong piece. It all depends on intent.

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Truth

Apr 10, 2015 06:46am

India doesnt have any proof. Pakistan had done its best for India. Terrorists openly admit their crimes and don't seem to fear. Who ever was behind Mumbai terrorist attacks or any other I hope Pak Ind work together to find the root cause and perish them. Indians please stop blaming Pakistan for terrorist attacks in India. Pakistan is in far worser situation fighting terrorism.

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Jai

Apr 10, 2015 09:18am

I suppose David Headley's statement, Ajman Kasab's statement, and the telephonic transcripts leading to Lakhvi are not sufficient evidence for Pakistan. This is a lesson for all Indians......you cannot trust Pakistan, forget friendship.

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think about it

Apr 10, 2015 09:58am

@Zubaida Khan So you mean this is tit for tat .

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Anil Desai

Apr 10, 2015 10:55am

@Zak You are master of conspiracy theories. Come to Mumbai you will have a great career in Bollywood!!!

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Sarita Talwai

Apr 10, 2015 11:00am

Did my comment cross boundaries of decency?

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SANJEEV KUMAR YADAV

Apr 10, 2015 11:05am

It will only prolong Pakistan's fight against BAD terrorists. I wonder how many innocent Pakistan army personnel will sacrifice their lives for their motherland for such hypocrisy.

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Riaz

Apr 10, 2015 05:41pm

Justice has been done.

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