10 years of 26/11: US expresses solidarity with India; increases reward on perpetrators to USD 5 million

Pompeo said that it is an affront to the families of the victims that even after ten years, those who planned the Mumbai attack have still not been convicted for their involvement.

New Delhi: On the completion of ten years of the appalling terror attacks in Mumbai, the US State Secretary Michael Pompeo strongly condemned terrorism and called upon Pakistan to implement sanctions against the terrorists responsible for this atrocity, including Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and its affiliates. The US also increased the reward on the LeT chief and the mastermind of the attack Hafiz Saeed, Zakiur-Rehman Lakhavi and other involved terrorists and called for immediate punishment of those responsible. Under its Rewards for Justice programme, the country is offering a reward of up to 5 million dollars for information about any individual who committed, conspired, aided or abetted the 2008 Mumbai attack. US said that the key members of this heinous plot remain at large, and this investigation remains active and ongoing and that this reward offer extends to any individual who bears responsibility for this act of terror. The move comes less than a fortnight after 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. Pompeo said that it is an affront to the families of the victims that even after ten years, those who planned the Mumbai attack have still not been convicted for their involvement. “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 Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and its affiliates”, he said in his statement. Expressing solidarity with people of India and the city of Mumbai, Pompeo said: “We stand with the families and friends of the victims, whose loved ones were lost in this act of barbarism, including six American citizens. The barbarity of 26/11 shocked the entire world.” The United States is committed to seeing that those responsible for this attack face justice. The Department of State Rewards for Justice (RFJ) Program is offering a new reward for up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of any individual who was involved in planning or facilitating the 2008 Mumbai attack, he stated. On 26 November 2008, a group of attackers from Pakistan based  Lashkar-e-Tayyiba carried out a series of coordinated attacks against multiple targets in Mumbai including the Hotel Taj Mahal, the Oberoi Hotel, the Leopold Café, the Nariman House and the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus killing approximately 170 persons.  Six American citizens were also killed during the three-day siege beginning on November 26.