Lashkar-E-Taiba Member Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi Accused Of 2008 Mumbai Attacks Granted Bail By Pakistani Court

A top member of Lashkar-e-Taiba who had been accused of conducting terror attacks in Mumbai, India, in 2008, was granted bail by Pakistan’s anti-terrorist court on Thursday. Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi's bail comes two days after a school in Pakistan’s Peshawar was attacked by Taliban terrorists, killing over 130 school children.

The Pakistani court granted bail on the basis of lack of evidence and asked for a surety of Rs. 500,000 ($7,904) from Lakhvi, who was allegedly the operations commander, The Times of India, a local Indian newspaper reported. He was arrested in 2009 for his role in the attacks that killed 166 people and left over 300 injured. His bail is being criticised by Indian analysts and politicians as just a day earlier Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other political parties promised to swipe the country clean of terrorism until “not a single terrorist is left in Pakistan," NDTV, an Indian news network reported.

"This is a matter of grave concern especially after Pakistan faced such a major attack and the Pakistan Prime Minister promised to crush terrorism," Prakash Javadekar, a government official, said, according to NDTV.

Lakhvi is one of the seven people, who were arrested for allegedly organizing the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Dawn, a local Pakistani newspaper reported.

Another co-founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba -- Hafiz Saeed -- whom India considers the mastermind behind the attacks, was released on court orders in 2009. Saeed also reportedly blamed India for the Peshawar school attack on Tuesday.

"The bail has been granted but there is a strong opposition from the government. This is being seen as a wrong timing," Daniyal Hassan, a journalist with Dawn, said, according to IBN News, an Indian news network.

Users from India criticised the move and reacted angrily to Lakhvi's bail.