India has formally protested to
Pakistan over its decision to release on bail the suspected mastermind
of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
India's ambassador in Islamabad
met Pakistan's foreign secretary to "register our strong concerns" at
the release of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, a government official in Delhi
said.
The US and France also voiced concern.
Pakistan hit back, blaming India for what it called "inordinate delay in extending co-operation" over the case.
Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi was released from jail in Rawalpindi on Friday morning.
He had been granted bail in December, but was kept in detention under public order legislation.
That detention was declared void by the High Court, which ordered his release.
Mr
Lakhvi still faces trial - along with six other suspects - over the
attacks, which left 166 people dead and damaged peace efforts between
the two countries.
'Abominable act'
Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh had earlier called the release "very disappointing and unfortunate".
The ministry for external affairs said it had warned Pakistan that
such a move "erodes the value of assurances repeatedly conveyed to us
with regard to cross-border terrorism".
The US state department
said it too had conveyed its concerns to senior Pakistani officials
"over the course of many months and as recently as yesterday".
"Terrorist attacks are an insult on the collective safety and security of all countries," spokesman Jeff Rathke said.
Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not publicly commented on the
development, but on a visit to Paris on Friday it was mentioned by
French President Francois Hollande.
"I express to you my
indignation each time that a terrorist is freed while he still has
responsibility for an abominable act," President Hollande told Mr Modi.
Analysis: M Ilyas Khan, BBC News, Islamabad
Zakiur
Rahman Lakhvi's trial in the Mumbai attacks case still continues, but
his release on bail suggests the legal evidence presented in court by
prosecutors may not be enough for a conviction.
This contrasts
with six years ago, when the interior minister at the time, Rehman
Malik, provided graphic details of how a part of the Mumbai attacks
conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan. Indian officials have since said
that they also handed evidence against Mr Lakhvi and his comrades to
Pakistani prosecutors.
Apparently, most of this evidence has not
been made part of the case record, indicating legal complications and
also perhaps a lack of interest on the part of Pakistani authorities.
Analysts
say legal technicalities may be one factor behind his release. Another
factor, according to some in the intelligence community, may be the fear
in security circles that his "demobilisation" may hurt the morale of
Kashmir-focused insurgents, something they say the government does not
wish to see. Profile: Lashkar-e-Taiba In
November 2008, a number of gunmen carried out a series of coordinated
attacks targeting at least seven high-profile locations across Mumbai,
including two luxury hotels.
The attacks were blamed on militants of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group (LeT) which Mr Lakhvi was accused of heading.
He was arrested by Pakistan on 7 December 2008, four days after he was named by Indian officials as one of the major suspects.
During
his time in prison, Mr Lakhvi is said to have received special
treatment which enabled him to remain in effective contact with the LeT
rank and file.
Elements in the Pakistani establishment are known
to have provided such facilities to jailed militant commanders whom they
believe they may need in future.
The court order to free Mr
Lakhvi on bail caused controversy as it came just after militants
carried out a massacre at a school in Peshawar last December.
The
attack prompted the civilian and military leadership to come together to
make a rare call for action against "all shades of terrorism".
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