Lahore: Mumbai attack mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court in Lahore in a terror financing case. UN proscribed terrorist Lakhvi, 61, who was on bail since 2015 in the Mumbai attack case, was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab province.
"The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Lahore convicted Lakhvi for commission of offences of terrorism financing in a case registered by the CTD for 15 years under different section of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997," a court official said after the hearing.
Judge Ejaz Ahmad Buttar sentenced Lakhvi to five years of rigorous imprisonment each on three counts with a fine of PKR 100,000 each on three counts. "In default of payment of fine, he will have to undergo an imprisonment of six months each on three counts. He has been sent to prison to serve the sentences," the official said.
His whereabouts had not been known since he was released on bail from a jail in Rawalpindi in April 2015. However, it was widely believed he had continued playing a key role in directing the activities of LeT even while he was in prison after being arrested in the aftermath of the Mumbai carnage.
"Lakhvi is accused of running a dispensary, using funds collected for terrorism financing. He and others also collected funds from this dispensary and used these funds for further terrorism financing. He also used these funds for personal expenses," the the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab province had said last week.
India calls step ‘farcical’
However, India described Pakistan’s action as “farcical” just ahead of next month’s review of its case by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global terror watchdog. India called upon the international community to hold Islamabad accountable for its support to cross-border terrorism. Pakistan is trying to avoid being put on its black list. It is currently on the FATF grey, or increased monitoring, list.
While Lakhvi has been accused by New Delhi and Washington of being behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the court sentenced him on charges not linked to any specific militant attack. The UN Security Council sanctions committee has declared Lakhvi LeT’s chief of operations and accuses him of being involved in militant activity in a number of other regions and countries, including Chechnya, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
