As India prepares to mark the first anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked Pakistan to dismantle the terror infrastructure in their country and promised that his government "will not rest" till the perpetrators were brought to justice.
"The
government will not rest till we have brought the perpetrators of this crime to justice," Singh said, addressing a press conference at Willard Hotel here.
A total of 166 people were killed in the Nov 26-29, 2008, Mumbai carnage that was unleashed by 10 terrorists from Pakistan who sneaked into the city from the sea. One of the terrorists was caught alive and is now undergoing trial in Mumbai.
"We have taken up the matter with all the force at our command with the government of Pakistan," Singh said.
"We expect the masterminds of the attack and their supporters to be tried and punished. Infrastructure of terrorism and all safe havens have to be dismantled," he asserted.
He also spoke about "remembrance and homage to all the innocent civilians and our brave men in uniform" who died in the attack.
In the India-US joint statement released Tuesday, President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Singh "underscored the absolute imperative to bring to justice the perpetrators of this terrorist attack".
"They expressed their grave concern about the threat posed by terrorism and violent extremists emanating from India's neighbourhood, whose impact is felt beyond the region. The two leaders agreed that resolute and credible steps must be taken to eliminate safe havens and sanctuaries that provide shelter to terrorists and their activities," said the joint statement.
The Pakistan government has accepted that the conspiracy of the Mumbai attack was planned and launched from its territory. India has given seven dossiers to the Pakistani government on investigation and has been especially miffed at Islamabad's refusal to take action against Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, on the plea of lack of evidence.