India & US send tough message on tackling terrorism; say perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack must be brought to justice

India and US have sent a tough message on tackling terrorism, saying perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attack must be brought to justice. External affairs minister Dr. S. Jaishankar trained his guns at Pakistan for continuing to protect the key conspirators of Mumbai’s 26/11 terror attacks. He also criticised China for blocking attempts by India and US to list terrorists at the UN.

Dr. Jaishankar was addressing the inaugural session of the UNSC’s Counter-Terrorism Committee (UNCTC) in Mumbai yesterday, October 28. Supporting India’s stand on global terrorism, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said the perpetrators of the 2008 carnage must be brought to justice.

Dr. Jaishankar said, the planners of the Mumbai attacks are unpunished still and UN Security Council had failed to act when it comes to proscribing some terrorists due to “political considerations”. Reiterating his stand taken at the international body’s high-level session in New York last month, the external affairs minister said India understood the cost of terrorism more than others.

British foreign secretary James Cleverly extended his condolences to the family members of the victims of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and vowed to prevent such acts from taking place again.

The second day of the UNSC’s Counter-Terrorism Committee meeting will take place in New Delhi today, October 29. The theme of the special meeting is ‘Countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes’.

The meeting will further deliberate on ways and means to battle the new face of terrorism as strengthened by newer and more advanced technologies such as social media, online payments, and UAVs.