Islamabad/New Delhi: In a move that evoked a sharp reaction from India, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi on Thursday granted bail to Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, one of the key conspirators of the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai.

An outraged India immediately reacted on Thursday evening and told Pakistan that the release of the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) commander on bail was unacceptable to it and demanded immediate steps for the reversal of the decision.
New Delhi told Islamabad that there could be no selective approach to terrorism, emphasising that it should realise that no compromise can ever be made with terrorists. “We cannot accept that LeT’s chief operation commander Zakiur Lakhvi, one of the key conspirators of the Mumbai terror attacks in which so many innocent people were slaughtered, a person designated as an international terrorist by the UNSC, is being released on bail,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said.

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Home minister Rajnath Singh blamed Pakistan, saying there might be some shortcomings on the part of the prosecution in taking the case forward. Terming the bail as “very unfortunate” as it came just two days after the terror attack in Peshawar where over 132 schoolchildren were killed, he hoped that the Pakistan government will approach a higher court a-nd ensure its cancellation.

He also demanded that India’s most wanted terrorists, including LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, should be handed over to it. The decision of the Pakistani court also drew fire from social media in Pakistan.