Lakhvi remained in touch with pals from prison: U.S. agencies

“His release on bail is hardly a signal to the U.S. or international community that Pakistan has finally resolved to act against all terrorists operating from our soil,” former Pakistan envoy to the U.S. Hussain Haqqani told “The Hindu”.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has termed as ‘unfortunate’ the bail granted to Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi, the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

Lakhvi, who was the operation’s commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, was charged along with six others in 2009 in the Mumbai attack case.

Mumbai attacker Ajmal Kasab, executed in India, and David Coleman Headley, convicted in the U.S. for planning the attacks, had identified Lakhvi as the operations mastermind for the 26/11 attack on Mumbai in which 166 people were killed.

In July 2009, the Pakistan government admitted to Lakhvi’s role in a dossier handed over to India.

Sources said evidence on Lakhvi included his voice transcripts handed over by British and U.S. intelligence agencies to Pakistan. “The promise to prosecute Lakhvi and other identified perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks was the basis of the U.S. efforts to ensure India did not retaliate,” Pakistan’s Ambassador to the U.S. in 2008 Hussain Haqqani told The Hindu .

“U.S. officials often complained that according to their intelligence, Lakhvi was allowed to stay in touch with terror colleagues from prison. His release on bail is hardly a signal to the U.S. or international community that Pakistan has finally resolved to act against all terrorists operating from our soil.”