Pakistan court suspends Mumbai suspect’s detention order

Pakistan’s High Court has decided to suspend a detention order for a man accused of being involved in the deadly 2008 attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai.

Government lawyers made the announcement on Monday, warning that the decision regarding Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi would increase existing tensions with India.

Lawyer Jehangir Jadoon said that the suspension of the detention order may be withdrawn if Islamabad challenges it.

After another controversial court decision to grant Rehman bail on December 18, Pakistani authorities ordered his detention under public order legislation, a move later challenged by his attorney.

Earlier this month, Pakistani government prosecutor Mohammad Azhar Chaudhry said he would challenge the court’s decision to grant the suspect bail.

Meanwhile, Rehman remains in custody in a high-security prison.

In 2008, a 60-hour siege on Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, claimed the lives of 166 people. The attack was blamed on banned Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

In the same year, Islamabad admitted that the attacks were partly planned on its soil, but firmly denied allegations of any government involvement.

Mohammed Kassab, the Pakistani national who was involved in the attacks, was executed by India in 2012 after he was found guilty of a string of charges, including waging war against India, murder and terrorist acts.