Decide Lakhvi detention in 5 days, court says

Pakistan, March 26: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday ordered the Punjab government to take a decision within five days regarding the detention of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.

Lakhvi had submitted an application in the LHC on Wednesday with two pleas -- one challenging his detention and the other alleging that the federal and provincial governments committed contempt of court, Dawn online reported.

He had adopted the stance that his detention was illegal and in contempt of Islamabad High Court's (IHC) ruling.

The application also said that the Punjab home secretary should be bound to end his detention.

The IHC had set aside the third-time detention of Lakhvi and ordered the authorities to release him immediately.

However, before his release on March 14, a fresh detention order was issued against him.

Justice Mahmood Maqbool Bajwa presided over Thursday's hearing and dismissed Lakhvi's plea regarding contempt of court by the federal and provincial governments.

The court also ordered the Punjab home secretary to take a decision in relation to Lakhvi's detention in five days' time.

Lakhvi is among the seven people charged with planning and helping to carry out the Mumbai attacks on November 26, 2008, in which 166 people were killed.

The six other men facing trial in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail for their alleged involvement in the 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 (LeT) that has been accused by India of carrying out the attacks.

IANS