26/11 mastermind gets 15-yr jail in terror case, India calls it farce
Lahore/New Delhi, January 8
Mumbai attack mastermind and LeT commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi was sentenced to 15 years in jail by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court here in a terror financing case on Friday.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), however, was unimpressed by Pakistan’s action, which came amid growing international pressure on Islamabad to bring to justice terrorists roaming free in the country.
“The timing of these actions clearly suggests the intention of conveying a sense of compliance ahead of the APJG meeting and next FATF plenary meeting in February 2021. It has become routine for Pakistan to come up with such farcical actions prior to important meetings,” said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava at a media briefing here on Friday.
The 61-year-old UN proscribed terrorist, on bail since 2015 in the Mumbai case, was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department of Punjab province on Saturday.
“The Anti-Terrorism Court, Lahore, convicted Lakhvi for commission of offences of terrorism financing in a case registered by the CTD for 15 years under different sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997,” a court official said after the hearing. — PTI/TNS
