Pakistan: 26/11 plotter Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi challenges detention

Islamabad, Feb 23: The 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, on Monday challenged his detention under a public security act in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), saying the government has detained him on "illegal grounds".

"We have challenged the detention of Mr Lakhvi in the IHC. The government has detained him on illegal grounds. After bail from the trial court, the government had no legal justification to detain Lakhvi under Public Maintenance Order," Lakhvi's counsel Raja Rizwan Abbasi said.

He said IHC judge Noorul Haq Qureshi has fixed tomorrow for the hearing of Lakhvi's plea.

The government transferred the 26/11 case from Anti- Terrorism Court (ATC) (I) to the recently-established ATC (II) here on January 14 without giving any reason.

On December 18, 2014, the trial court granted bail to 54-year-old Lakhvi but was detained the next day under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).

However, the IHC suspended Lakhvi's detention on "weak legal ground". Just before he was to be released from Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, Lakhvi was arrested on charges of kidnapping an Afghan national in 2009.

Pakistan faced strong reaction from India following the bail order.

He has been kept in the high-security Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi till second week of the next month under the same order after the Pakistan government extended his detention by 30 days.

Earlier in January, Lakhvi had challenged his detention in the High Court which suspended the detention order.

However, the Supreme Court set aside the High Court's order on the government's plea.

Lakhvi and six others - Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum - have been charged with planning and executing the Mumbai attack in November, 2008 that left 166 people dead.

All of them are kept at the Adiala Jail.

OneIndia News

(With agency inputs)