26/11 Mumbai attacks: Blinken says 'it's long overdue for perpetrators to face justice'

Paying his tribute to the victims of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, US State Secretary Antony Blinken on Friday, 26 November, asserted that even thirteen years after the terrorist attack on 26 November 2008 "it is long overdue for the perpetrators to face justice". Hailing the "resilience of Mumbaikars", Blinken also paid homage to the six Americans killed in dastardly attack. The attack, as per ANI, killed 174 people, including 20 security force officials and 26 foreign nationals and injured 300 others.

Patricia A Lacina, Chargé d’Affaires of the American Embassy in New Delhi, also paid homage to the victims of the 26/11 attacks, and said that the US continued to stand side-by-side with India.

India summons Pak diplomat over delay in trial of 26/11 perpetrators

On Friday, India summoned a senior diplomat of the Pakistan High Commission and urged Islamabad to ensure a steady trial and conviction in the 26/11 case. In a note verbale handed over to the diplomat, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) emphasised that Islamabad should abide by its commitment to ensuring Pakistan curbs terrorism against India from its territory. “It is a matter of deep anguish that even after 13 years of this heinous terror attack, the families of 166 victims from 15 countries across the globe still await closure, with Pakistan showing little sincerity in bringing the perpetrators to justice," the MEA said in a press release. It is pertinent to mention that the former PM of Pakistan has gone on record and admitted that the "terrorists were sent from Pakistan's soil," the MEA statement said calling on Government of Pakistan to give up "double standards" and expeditiously bring the perpetrators of the horrific attack to justice.

26/11 terrorist attack

On November 26, 2008, a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists from Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out a set of coordinated attacks after entering Mumbai via sea route. The perpetrators targetted major landmarks in the heart of the city - crowded Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus (CST) railway station, Cama hospital, and multi-star hotels like Taj, Trident and Nariman House business and residential complex. Convicts Ajmal Kasab and Ismail Khan alone killed 58 people and injured over 100 before entering the hospital, where the alert hospital staff resulted in minimal casualties. However, the ambush at Cama killed Hemant Karkare, the city's Anti-terrorism squad (ATS) chief.

The terrorist also rained explosives and bullets at the Leopold Cafe followed by the Taj Mahal hotel and the Tower. The terrorists killed 31, including staff and guests at the iconic hotel at the banks of the Arabian sea. At least 30 were killed in the Oberoi-Trident after the hotel was sieged. The series of attacks culminated on the morning of November 29, 2009, after the National Security Guard (NSG) secured the Taj Hotel.

(With ANI inputs)

(Image: AP/PTI)