Pakistan court turns down Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi's bail plea in abduction case

A Pakistani judicial magistrate has reportedly turned down the bail request of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind, in a case pertaining to the kidnapping of a man named Anwar six and a half years ago.

The application was submitted before the court on Friday by Lakvi's counsel who argued that the case registered against his client was false, reported the Dawn.

Public prosecutor Nabeel Tabish contended that the bail request could not be approved as a probe into the case was still underway. He added that the First Information Report (FIR) against Lakhvi cannot be dismissed unless the investigation is complete. Judical Magistrate Naveed Khan subsequently turned down Lakhvi's bail plea.

Lakhvi was taken into custody following registration of the abduction case in December last year. He is also facing trial in an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on charges of training terrorists and facilitating the Mumbai terror attacks. India has sought his custody relentlessly since the 26/11 attacks in which 160 people were killed, including several foreigners.

The 54-year-old was reportedly arrested after the attacks from the headquarters of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group in Muzaffarabad.