The US has welcomed the conviction of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi on charges of terror financing but called on Pakistan to prosecute him for his role in masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court convicted and sentenced Lakhvi on Friday, though India dismissed the development as a “farcical” action made with an eye on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
“We are encouraged by the recent conviction of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi. However, his crimes go far beyond financing terrorism,” the US state department’s bureau of South and Central Asian affairs said on Twitter.
“Pakistan should further hold him accountable for his involvement in terrorist attacks, including the Mumbai attacks,” it added.
Lakhvi was arrested soon after the carnage in Mumbai in November 2008 on charges of planning, supporting and financing the attacks in India’s financial hub that killed 166 people, including six American nationals. There has been little progress in Pakistan’s efforts to prosecute Lakhvi and six other accused in the Mumbai attacks case despite evidence provided by dozens of witnesses.
The LeT commander was freed on bail in the Mumbai attacks case in 2015 and reports had suggested that he had been playing an active role in guiding the UN-designated terror group’s operations even when he was in jail.
{{/usCountry}}The LeT commander was freed on bail in the Mumbai attacks case in 2015 and reports had suggested that he had been playing an active role in guiding the UN-designated terror group’s operations even when he was in jail.
{{/usCountry}}The Pakistani anti-terrorism court found Lakhvi guilty under three sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act for running a dispensary to raise funds for terror financing. The judge gave Lakhvi separate five-year prison terms under each section, to be served concurrently.
This was the first time that Lakhvi has been convicted of a terrorism-related offense. However, a spokesman for the Counter-Terrorism Department of Pakistan’s Punjab province told media he was arrested for terror financing and not for any “specific militant attack”.
The external affairs ministry said after Lakhvi’s sentencing that Pakistan’s “farcical actions” appeared to be aimed at an upcoming review by the FATF of the country’s efforts to counter terror financing. It also called for “credible action” by Pakistan against all terror groups.