Islamabad- Islamabad High Court (IHC) has declared the detention order issued by district magistrate against Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi, prime accused in Mumbai attack case illegal and ordered for his release.
The court also declared null and void the notification of Lakhvi detention issued by the government. Justice Noor ul Haq N Qureshi of IHC pronounced the judgment which was earlier reserved on the petition challenging the detention orders of Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi today.
The court set aside the detention orders issued for the third time and ordered that the accused be set free. The verdict said Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi is a Pakistani citizen and he cannot be detained under external pressure. Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) had accepted bail plea of Lakhvi and later government issued his detention orders under 3 MPO which were challenged by the petitioner in IHC. The judgment says that the detention of Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi is not only illegal but also the fundamental rights of a common Pakistani citizen are being impinged upon due to his detention.
Raja Rizwan Abbasi counsel for Lakhvi had taken plea during previous hearing of this case that repeated extension in the detention order of his client by the government is illegal and the cases registered against Lakhvi are also unlawful.
Giving arguments in the court he had said that district magistrate was not authorized to extend detention orders of his client.
Advocate General Islamabad, Mian Abdul Rauf had told the court powers for extending detention orders of Lakhvi rested with the district magistrate Islamabad. The extended detention period is going to expire on March 16^th 2015 and review board would be constituted for further extension in detention, he added.
Additional Attorney General Afnan Karim Kundi had told the court while advancing his arguments that Pakistan was facing pressure from 13 countries including India in the matter of release of Lakhvi. There are security concerns as well with regard to his release and his release can plague Pakistan ties with other countries too, he added.
Justice Noor ul Haq N Qureshi had remarked that “no Pakistani citizen can be detained and convicted under external pressure. The court had reserved the judgment after hearing the arguments from both the sides.