‘No response from India to 26/11 Mumbai attacks’: Jaishankar
On November 26, 2008, 10 terrorists belonging to Pakistan-sponsored Lashkar-e-Toiba carried out attacks in Mumbai, killing 166 people and injuring more than 300
External affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Sunday said there was no response from the Indian side after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008.
“We should not have a repeat of what happened in Mumbai. That there was a terror attack and there was no response. Mumbai is a symbol of counter-terrorism for India and the world,” PTI quoted the minister.
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When India was a member of the UN Security Council, it was chairing the counter-terrorism committee. We held the counter-terrorism panel meeting in the same hotel that was hit by the terror attack,” Jaishankar added.
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“People know that India is standing strong against terrorism. We are today leaders in fighting terrorism.When we talk of zero tolerance against terror, it is clear that when somebody does something, there will be a response,” he said.
This is not the first time when Jaishankar has spoken about the 26/11 terror attacks that killed 166 people 16 years ago.
“After the Mumbai attacks, the national security advisor (NSA) of the previous UPA government wrote that ‘we sat, we debated. We considered all the options. Then we decided to do nothing and the justification was that we felt that the cost of attacking Pakistan was more than not doing so," Jaishankar said in April this year.
The BJP, then in opposition, has repeatedly attacked Congress for not taking a punitive action against the perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
26/11 Mumbai terror attacks
On November 26, 2008, ten terrorists belonging to Pakistan-sponsored Lashkar-e-Toiba carried out coordinated attacks in Mumbai. At least 166 people were killed and more than 300 injured in the worst terror attack on Indian soil.
The terrorists carried out attacks on Taj Palace Hotel, Oberoi Trident, Nariman House and other targets in Mumbai.
Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor terrorist was executed in November 2012.