A prison official says a militant accused in dozens of killings and the 2009 attack on Sri Lanka’s cricket team has been freed on bail after 14 years in custody.
Malik Ishaq, a leader of the banned extremist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, was arrested in 1997.
He has been accused of a variety of crimes, including orchestrating the attack on the cricketers, which left six security officers and a driver dead.Over the years, the cases against Ishaq have faltered as many witnesses have been too scared to testify.
Jail official Malik Mubashar said the Supreme Court granted Ishaq bail on Monday and he was freed Thursday after he posted it.
TV footage showed hundreds of Ishaq’s supporters greeting him as he left the jail in Kot Lakhpat.The man believed to be the operational head of banned organization Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Malik Ishaq has been released after being imprisoned at the Kot Lakh Pat jail for almost fourteen years, Geo News reported.
Speaking after his release Ishaq said that the integrity of Pakistan was dear to him and he would not let anything happen to the country.
Ishaq had been in prison since 1997 and had 44 cases ranging from murder to terrorism lodged against him. The court had acquitted him in 34 cases while granted him bail in the rest.
Head of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, Maulana Muhammed Ahmed Ludhianvi along with other members greeted Malik Isaq upon his release. Speaking to Geo News, Malik Ishaq said that he was satisfied with the decision of the courts and he had nothing to do with terrorism. Ishaq added that he would continue to fight for the country and the Sahaba.
The Supreme Court’s Lahore registry on July 11 had granted bail to Malik Ishaq.
Ishaq was accused of masterminding the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009 while in prison. He had appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn the decision of the Lahore High Court which had rejected his bail plea.
The case was heard by Justice M.A. Shahid Siddiqui at the Supreme Courts Lahore registry. The defense attorney for Ishaq had said that the chargers against him could not be proven and thus the Supreme Court had approved his bail. The court had directed that he submit two separate security bonds worth Rs 500,000.
