Lahore: It took just 24 hours for the anti-terror bubble to burst in Pakistan.
After proclaiming that terrorism will be stamped out in the entire region and that there is no ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Taliban, the anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has given bail to Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the key handler of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Even more shocking was the prosecution’s revelation, after the ruling, that the 26/11 ‘mastermind’ had been given bail despite the trial nearing its conclusion and the mountain of evidence against Lakhvi.
Now, it is feared that with the 26/11 perpetrator out on bail, very few witnesses will be inclined to depose against him. It may be recalled that one of the public prosecutors trying this case was gunned down some time back.
According to Indian legal experts, the case has become a farce despite India sharing its dossier of evidence on Lakhvi with the Pakistan authorities. Seven judges have been replaced in the case since the start of the trial in 2009; Jutsice Kausar Abbasi Zaidi, who granted Lakhvi bail, is the eighth one and is holding the proceedings in camera at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi due to apparent security concerns.
In fact, ever since the case was admitted in 2009, the Pakistani judiciary has been going slow — the pattern has been one of delays and obfuscation. And the Pakistani alibi has constantly been that evidence presented by India is not enough or clinching enough. The prosecution had recently filed an application in the trial court request-
ing that the hearing should either be held through a video-link or the witnesses should be allowed to submit their recorded statements in the court. But the court dismissed it.
After the outcry in the Indian media and the strong reaction from Indian political parties, the Pakistan government said that the bail had been given on a technicality and that it would be duly challenged in the Lahore High Court.
A government official further said that they may not release Lakhvi as it may create law and order problems. But it was apparent that there were too many red faces in Islamabad over the court ruling and the government was trying its best to make belated amends.
The conformist Pakistani electronic media, too, gave virtually ‘‘no coverage” to Lakhvi’s bail news. Hardly a few channels ran the news on the scroll.
