Following the massacre of 132 children and several others killed and injured in an attack on a Peshawar school by Tahrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), when Pakistani Premier stated in a resolve on the following day that he would wage a war against terrorism ‘until not a single terrorist is left’ and that there is nothing like a ‘good Taliban and bad Taliban’, the first thing that crossed in my mind was that should he not say without mincing words ‘good terrorist and bad terrorist’. The problem in Pakistan has been that the terror activities waged by different terrorist outfits on their western and eastern borders are perceived and defined in different perspective while it is a crime against humanity irrespective of place where it is carried out.
The following day, an anti-terrorist court granted bail to the well-known co-founder of Lashka-e-Taiba and master-mind of terrorist operation of 26/11 Mumbai attacks Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi allegedly due to lack of evidence or deficient evidence. As expected, there has been a sharp reaction and outcry in India on his bail when the people and Parliament of India were mourning the death of children and had unconditionally joined Pakistan to condemn terrorism and offer all possible assistance to fight terrorism. What is worst is that it came at a time when the hope was sprouting and being nurtured that this attack would serve as a watershed incident in Pakistan’s dubious credentials in the war against the terrorism.
Lakhvi is one of the seven accused of planning, financing and executing 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai in which 166 people were killed and several hundred injured. He and his associated were arrested in December, 2008, case against him registered in February, 2009 and was indicted in November same year. Ever since his trial was proceeding on snail’s pace. After his trial began in an anti-terrorist court (ATC) in Rawalpindi, it was transferred to the ATC in Islamabad in 2010. In April, 2014, the ATC special judge expressed his inability to conduct the trial of concerned suspects quoting security reasons following a terrorist attack on the district court in Islamabad.
Let’s see what are well known points that go against the Lashkar-e-Taiba co-founder Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.
- Ajmal Kasab, savage killer of 26/11 attacks confessed to his interrogators that Lakhvi was one who recruited terrorists for the attack
- Abu Jindal, an Indian national, who set up the Karachi control room for 26/11 told his interrogators on arrest in June, 2012 That Lakhvi was present in the Control room from 7.00 PM on November 26, 2008 talking to terrorists on phone and monitoring developments on the television.
- Pak-American operative David Headley confessed Lakhvi as the main architect of the attack.
- Conversation intercepted by India revealed that Lakhvi was screaming instructions to the 26/11 attackers to kill as many as possible. NIA had sought for Lakhvi’s voice sample for further probe but Pakistan didn’t respond so for.
- US sleuths too had confirmed Lakhvi’s role from call logs.
As per reports in Rawalpindi’s Adiala prison, Lakhvi has been all along treated like a VIP all along as per reports. His cell is like a well-furnished suite with all modern facilities including television set. He has access to newspapers and moves within the jail without any restrictions. While in jail, he freely enjoyed the luxury of regular outings to visit his family and friends and was even allowed to use jail vehicles and security to meet his family and terror associates outside the prison. Within prison too, he was allowed to meet visitors mostly people with dubious distinction (terrorists) seeking his guidance and advice. Reportedly he has been using cell phones inside the jail to communicate with LET Commanders and Cadres. Jail authorities even arranged his birthday celebration in2012. Abu Jindal had told his interrogators that Lakhvi during one of the meetings in Adiala jail informed him that the jail authorities had allowed his wife to visit him in prison in2010 to perform conjugal rights, following which their son was born.
Under mass reaction and tremendous diplomatic pressure, Lakhvi has been again arrested under the maintenance of public order and reports are coming that he will remain in jail for the next three months. Experts feel that to expect that any incident would change Pakistan’s strategy towards India and Afghanistan is naïve. It is only worried about the domestic terrorism with hardly any concern for what is being exported to either side of border from its soil. One can only hope that instead of only ‘Taliban’, Pakistan should realize that no terrorist outfit is good for the cause of nations and humanity. And what It does with Lakhvi, we will come to know in the next few weeks.
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