Lahore ATC sentences LeT's Lakhvi to 5 years imprisonment for terror financing

Published January 8, 2021
Security personnel escort Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi from a courthouse after a hearing in Islamabad, on Jan 1, 2015 — AFP/File
Security personnel escort Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi from a courthouse after a hearing in Islamabad, on Jan 1, 2015 — AFP/File

A Lahore Anti-Terrorism (ATC) on Friday sentenced Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, leader of proscribed organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), to five years imprisonment and a fine of Rs300,000 in a terrorism financing case.

The court also directed law enforcement agencies to arrest the co-accused in the case, Abu Anas Mohsin, due to availability of sufficient evidence against him.

In a statement issued on Jan 2, officials said Lakhvi was arrested by the Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in an intelligence-based operation from Lahore.

The statement said he was suspected of running a medical dispensary to collect and disburse funds for financing terrorism, had been charged under relevant sections of the ATA and would be brought before an ATC in Lahore.

In its written order issued today, the ATC found Lakhvi guilty under three sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997, for running a dispensary in Kot Lakhpat to raise funds for financing terrorism.

Lakhvi was sentenced to five year prison terms under each section, to be served concurrently, with an additional fine of Rs300,000. The court also handed over possession of the said dispensary to the state.

Lakhvi will now be sent to Central Jail, Adiala, to serve out his sentence.

As leader of the banned militant group, LeT, Lakhvi is blamed by the United States and India for the 2008 Mumbai attacks. He was first arrested in 2008 but was later released on bail.

India has long called on Pakistan to bring Lakhvi to trial, but Islamabad says Delhi has not provided concrete evidence to try the LeT leader.

A UN Security Council sanctions committee says Lakhvi is LeT's chief of operations and accuses him of being involved in militant activity in a number of other regions and countries, including Chechnya, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Opinion

Seizing the moment

Seizing the moment

The provinces bear the primary responsibility for improving access to family planning services, particularly for poorer families.

Editorial

PIA privatisation
Updated 11 Jul, 2025

PIA privatisation

While it does give the privatisation authorities a much-needed head-start, it will not be sustainable unless preceded by policy and regulatory reforms.
Beyond expectations
11 Jul, 2025

Beyond expectations

THESE are tough times, but the country is lucky enough to still be considered home by a large expatriate workforce,...
Train in vain
11 Jul, 2025

Train in vain

TALK of ‘revival’ of the long-dead Karachi Circular Railway has turned into a running joke for denizens of this...
No negotiations
10 Jul, 2025

No negotiations

IT seems like the appeal from Kot Lakhpat Jail has fallen on deaf ears. “[…] The time for negotiations has...
Speech policing
Updated 10 Jul, 2025

Speech policing

Sweeping accusations have once more exposed just how broadly and arbitrarily Peca is being applied.
Continued detention
10 Jul, 2025

Continued detention

THE continued detention of BYC head Mahrang Baloch and five other activists indicates that the state is uninterested...