'Lakhvi's release is detrimental to regional security'

Washington, April 25: Pakistan's release of the suspected mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks has the potential of throwing off the dynamic the US has with both New Delhi and Islamabad, according to a national security expert. The Lahore High Court's approval of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi's release from prison "thoroughly tanked any near-term prospects for improved relations between the two countries," Whitney Kassel wrote in Foreign Policy magazine "The court's decision has left Indian leaders fuming and has drawn criticism from the US government," noted Kassel, a director focused on strategic analysis and risk management at The Arkin Group, a private intelligence firm in New York City. "A deterioration in Pakistan's relations with either nation will be detrimental to regional and global security and, in the case of bilateral India-Pakistan ties, the ultimate stability of both countries," she wrote. Lakhvi's release "came as disappointing but not entirely unexpected news to many Indians who, again, expect that certain actors in Pakistan will behave in ways that preclude peace with India," Kassel wrote. Pakistani authorities, on the other hand, cited legal reasons for Lakhvi's release, claiming there was insufficient evidence to support his continued detention.