26/11 Mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi's Release Challenged in Pakistan Supreme Court

26/11 mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi's release from prison has been challenged in Pakistan's Supreme Court. In a petition, the Punjab government has said that the Mumbai terror attack trial may be affected because of Lakhvi's release.

Lakhvi, 55, walked out of a jail in Rawalpindi on Saturday after a court declared his detention illegal. The Punjab government said that the court released him "despite seeing sensitive documents" against him.

His release has been condemned internationally - while the US had expressed grave concern, Israel had termed it a "setback for the international efforts in the war against terror."

India, registering its strong concerns, called it a "most negative development" for bilateral ties.

Lakhvi is a top commander of the terror outfit Lashkar e Taiba. He has been accused of guiding 10 gunmen from a control room in Pakistan during the Mumbai attacks.

A close relative of LeT founder and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, Lakhvi was arrested in 2009, months after the attack in which 166 people were killed, and was indicted along with the six others.

There has been little progress in the trial since 2009. Yesterday, the Islamabad High Court asked an anti-terror court to wrap up the trial within two months.