NEW DELHI: In an attempt to impress upon Pakistan the need for a clampdown on terrorists operating from its territory, New Delhi has written to Islamabad suggesting ways to bring the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks to justice ‘expeditiously’.
The suggestions have been made by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar in a letter addressed to his counterpart Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhary. Pakistan is yet to respond to the suggestions. “Well as you know the Mumbai terror attack probe has not progressed expeditiously, although it will soon be eight years since the dastardly attack. In order to bring the guilty to book, our Foreign Secretary has recently written to his counterpart suggesting ways on how the investigation can be expedited through cooperation and legal channels,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Vikas Swarup said here on Thursday. The letter dated September 6 was handed over to Chaudhary on September 9 by the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad Gautam Bambawale. “It shows our continuous focus is on terrorism. We want to bring the case to a conclusion,” Swarup added.
Jaishankar’s letter has come after Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency dropped charges against former Lashkar-e-Toiba militant Sufayan Zafar, accused of giving financial aid to the Mumbai terror attack on November 26, 2008.
Six suspects — Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younus Anjum — are lodged in the Adiyala Jail, Rawalpindi, since 2009 for abetment to murder, attempted murder and planning and executing the Mumbai attacks.
Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, LeT’s operations commander and the mastermind of the 26/11 terror attack, is in hiding since he was granted bail more than a year ago.
Over 160 people were killed in the attack after 10 terrorists wielding guns and other weapons entered Mumbai through the Arabian Sea.