Kathmandu/New Delhi: India yesterday said the trial of those responsible for the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai was progressing “very slowly” in Pakistan, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled the 2008 horror at the Saarc summit.
Modi, who is in Kathmandu for the Saarc summit, stressed the need to combat “terrorism and trans-national crimes”.
“Today, as we remember the horror of the terror attack in Mumbai in 2008, we feel the endless pain of lost lives,” the prime minister said at the opening of the two-day summit.
“Let us work together to fulfil the pledge we have taken to combat terrorism and trans-national crimes,” he added.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh, meanwhile, said the trial of those responsible for the attack was progressing “very slowly” in Pakistan and should be expedited on a priority basis.
“Heartfelt tributes to people who lost their lives in Mumbai terror attack of 2008. The perpetrators of Mumbai attack are yet to be punished,” Rajnath Singh said in a tweet.
“The trial of those responsible for Mumbai attack is progressing very slowly in Pakistan. The process should be expedited on a priority basis,” he said.
In a separate message, Modi saluted the security personnel who laid down their lives during the attack. “We remember the horrific terror attacks in Mumbai on this day in 2008 and pay homage to the innocent men and women who lost their lives. We salute the brave security personnel who laid down their lives to protect several lives on that fateful day. They are our true heroes,” he said.
“Today is a day to reaffirm our commitment to work together to combat the menace of terror and uproot it from the face of humankind,” he said. Rajnath Singh also paid homage to the brave security personnel who sacrificed their lives while fighting the attackers.
As many as 166 people were killed in the Nov 26-28 attack, in which 10 gunmen from Pakistan sneaked into India and let loose a reign of terror.
India has repeatedly told Pakistan to take action against those responsible.
It has termed Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed as an “evil mastermind” of the attack and demanded early action against him. The two houses of parliament also paid tributes to the security personnel who laid down their lives during the attack and also remembered the people killed in the incident.
Maharashtra Industry Minister Prakash Mehta led the state in paying homage in the morning at the 26/11 police memorial raised at the Mumbai Police Gymkhana.
He paid floral tributes to the brave security personnel who laid their lives battling the 10 Pakistani terrorists during the Nov 26-29, 2008, attack.
Mehta was standing in for Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who was accompanying President Pranab Mukherjee at various functions during his two-day visit to the state.
IANS
