The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pakistan rebuked the US Department of State on its statement on the trial and arrest of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
The US State Department welcomed Lakhvi’s arrest last weekend, calling it “an important step in holding him responsible for his role in supporting terrorism and its financing”.
“We will follow his prosecution and sentencing closely and urge that he be held accountable for his involvement in the Mumbai attacks,” the US state department said on Twitter.
The FO responded to this in a statement that read, “the investigations, prosecutions & subsequent convictions, through due process, are a reflection of effectiveness of Pakistan’s legal system which operates independent of any extraneous factors or influences.”
The FO also highlighted that the legal process in the ‘Mumbai Case’ remains stalled due to reluctance by Indian side to send witnesses for cross examination by Pakistani court.
The FO encouraged the State Department to “reserve its concern for the active aiding, abetting, planning, promoting, financing & execution of terrorist activities by India for which sufficient irrefutable evidence has already been provided.”
