Islamabad: Mumbai attacks mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi is likely to be released soon as Islamabad High Court on Friday termed his detention as illegal and void.

According to media reports, the court said that he cannot be kept in prison anymore and ordered his release.

Justice Noorul Haq accepted 55-year-old Lakhvi's appeal filed against his third time detention orders and ordered his immediate release, Dawn reported. The High Court had earlier reserved its decision over the application.

Lakhvi, believed to be a close relative of LeT founder and Jamat-Ud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, was arrested in December 2008 and was indicted along with the six others on November 25, 2009 in connection with the 26/11 attacks. The trial has been underway since 2009. He has been detained at Adiala jail for the last five years.

Lakhvi was detained under a new case in December hours after the Islamabad High Court suspended his detention and ordered his conditional release from jail.

Pakistan faced strong reaction from India following the bail order and had assured India that it would appeal against Lakhvi’s bail in Supreme Court.

54-year-old Lakhvi and six others - Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum - have been charged with planning and executing the Mumbai attacks in November, 2008 that left 166 people dead. The trial has been underway since 2009.