Hafiz' defence of Lakhvi clearly indicates latter's involvement in 26/11 Mumbai attacks: Ujjwal Nikam

Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam on Tuesday said that Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed coming out in defence of 26/11 accused Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi is indicative of the fact that the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader is deeply rooted in the criminal conspiracy of the Mumbai terror attacks.

"It is very pertaining to note that the moment the Government of India had launched a protest with the United Nation in respect of the release of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, immediately thereafter, Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), came forward and had given a defence statement in the favour of Lakhvi, saying that Lakhvi is innocent," Nikam told ANI.

"What does this indicate? It clearly indicates that Lakhvi is deeply rooted in the criminal conspiracy of terror attack of 26 November," he added.

The JuD chief had yesterday said that India was trying to put pressure on Pakistan through the U.N. and the U.S. to punish Lakhvi for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

According to reports, Saeed said that Lakhvi is innocent as there has been no evidence against him for his involvement in the case.

The JuD chief's comments came after New Delhi took up Lakhvi's matter with the UN.

India had earlier requested the UN to raise this matter with Pakistan and said that Lakhvi's release was in violation of the norms of the global body.