US sets $5 mn reward for info leading to the arrest or conviction of guilty
As the country solemnly observed the 10th anniversary of the horrific 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes which claimed 166 lives, India on Monday accused Pakistan of showing “little sincerity” in punishing those involved in the crime and said the terror attack plotters are still roaming the streets of Pakistan.
Asking Pakistan to give up its “double standards”, India has asked the country to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice. “We once again call on the Government of Pakistan to give up double standards and to expeditiously bring the perpetrators of the horrific attack to justice,” the MEA said.
“This is not just a matter of Pakistan’s accountability to the families of the innocent victims who fell to terrorists, but also an international obligation,” it said.
Meanwhile, news agency PTI reported from Washington that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has asked Pakistan to act against those responsible for the barbaric 2008 Mumbai attacks as Washington announced a new reward of $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of those involved in the carnage.
India welcomed the US statement calling on Pakistan to uphold UN Security Council obligations to implement sanctions against the terrorists responsible for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, including Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) and its affiliates.
The case, in which seven LeT members are facing charges of planning and executing the strike, is still dragging on in a Pakistani anti-terror court.
“The 26/11 terrorist attack was planned, executed and launched from Pakistan territory. The former Prime Minister of Pakistan had earlier this year admitted that the terrorists were sent from Pakistan’s soil,” the MEA said.
Describing the Mumbai terror attack as a “barbarity”, the US Secretary of State said, “We call upon all countries, particularly Pakistan, to uphold their UN Security Council obligations to implement sanctions against the terrorists responsible for this atrocity, including LeT and its affiliates.”
“It is an affront to the families of the victims that, after ten years, those who planned the Mumbai attack have still not been convicted for their involvement,” Pompeo said in a statement, making it clear to Islamabad that the Trump Administration was not happy with the slow pace of the trial involving seven LeT suspects, including its operations commander Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, who is out on bail.
“The US Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) Programme is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual who committed, conspired to commit, or aided or abetted in the execution of the 2008 Mumbai attack,” the State Department said in a statement on Sunday.
“Key members of this heinous plot remain at large, and this investigation remains active and ongoing. This reward offer extends to any individual who bears responsibility for this act of terror,” the RFJ said in a separate statement.
The move comes less than a fortnight after US Vice-President Mike Pence had a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Singapore, during which he is believed to have himself raised this issue and rued that even 10 years after the Mumbai terrorist attack its perpetrators have not been brought to justice.
“The United States is committed to working with our international partners to identify and bring to justice those responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attack,” it said.
The State Department’s new announcement marks the third RFJ reward offer seeking information on the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack.
In April 2012, the Department of State announced reward offers for information that brings to justice LeT founder Hafiz Saeed and Hafiz Abdul Rahman Makki, another senior LeT leader. Under this, Washington announced a USD 10 million bounty for information leading to Saeed’s arrest and conviction but, despite periods of detention over the years, he has remained free in Pakistan.