US welcomes LeT commander Lakhvi’s arrest on charges of terror financing

Washington, Jan 05: The United States on Tuesday welcomed the arrest of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi by Pakistani authorities on charges of terror financing but also called for his prosecution for his role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

"We welcome Pakistan's arrest of terrorist leader Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi as an important step in holding him responsible for his role in supporting terrorism and its financing," the US state department's bureau of South and Central Asian affairs said on Twitter.

"We will follow his prosecution & sentencing closely and urge that he be held accountable for his involvement in the Mumbai attacks," it said.

Mumbai attack mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi was arrested on Saturday in Pakistan on terror financing charges, according to an official statement, amidst growing international pressure on Islamabad to bring to justice terrorists roaming free in the country.

UN proscribed terrorist Lakhvi, who was on bail since 2015 in the Mumbai attack case, was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab province.

Lakhvi was designated as a global terrorist by the UN in December 2008 for being associated with LeT and al-Qaeda and for participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing or perpetrating of acts by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf or in support of both the entities.