Islamabad/ New Delhi: Pakistan has arrested 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi on terror-financing charges, almost six years after he got bail apparently because local authorities were economical in presenting before court evidence of his role in perpetrating the terror strikes in India.
Indian authorities see his arrest as intended more to dodge global terror watchdog FATF’s Black List than to bring to justice the LeT commander for the 2008 attacks that left 166 dead. While acknowledging that Islamabad had made significant progress in addressing issues related to terror-financing and money laundering, the Paris-based FATF had still retained Pakistan on its Grey, or Increased Monitoring, List, in October last year. This was mainly because of its failure to address six important items, one of which related to action against UNSC-proscribed terrorists, in its 27-point action plan to check terror-financing.
Pak action comes ahead of FATF review
Pakistan’s action against Lakhvi comes ahead of the FATF review of its case next month when the agency will decide whether or not Pakistan had done enough to comply with these six items. Lakhvi’s arrest comes at a time FATF wants Pakistan to demonstrate “effective implementation” of targeted financial sanctions against all UN 1267 and 1373 designated terrorists and those acting for or on their behalf.
After Lakhvi was held, a spokesman for the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab province said his arrest was linked to terrorism-financing and not to any specific attack. A case of terrorism financing was registered against him in a police station of CTD in Lahore.
Lakhvi is said to have been running a medical dispensary to collect and disburse funds for militant activities, the spokesperson added. Confirming Lakhvi’s arrest, Imran Gill, his lawyer, said his case would be taken up for hearing next week. The UN Security Council sanctions committee has declared Lakhvi as LeT’s chief of operations and accused him of being involved in militant activities in a number of other regions and countries, including Chechnya, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Indian authorities had claimed that Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman in the 2008 Mumbai siege, had told interrogators before his execution that the assailants were in touch with Lakhvi.
India has long called on Pakistan to bring Lakhvi to trial, but Islamabad always claimed that New Delhi has not provided concrete evidence to try the LeT leader. He was first arrested in 2008 but was later released on bail.
