26/11 masterminds must be brought to justice, says Jaishankar as India remembers Mumbai terror attack victims

Tributes poured in on the 14th anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeting 'Terrorism threatens humanity' while remembering the victims of the 26/11 attacks.

"Those who planned and oversaw this attack must be brought to justice. We owe this to every victim of terrorism around the world," EAM Jaishankar said, sharing a short video from the deadly attack that left 166 people dead and more than 300 people injured.

On November 26, 2008, 10 Pakistani terrorists arrived by sea route and opened fire indiscriminately at people killing 166, including 18 security personnel, and injuring several others, besides damaging property worth crores.

The then Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, Army Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Mumbai's Additional Police Commissioner Ashok Kamte and Senior Police Inspector Vijay Salaskar were among those killed in the attack.

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The attack had begun on 26 November and lasted until 29 November. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital, the Nariman House Jewish community centre were some of the places targeted by the terrorists. Ajmal Kasab was the only terrorist who was captured alive. He was hanged four years later on November 21, 2012.

In Maharashtra, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde paid floral tributes to the martyrs who laid down their lives while fighting terrorists on this day 14 years ago. Family members of the policemen, who lost their lives during the November 2008 attacks, also paid tributes to the martyrs.

Meanwhile, President Droupadi Murmu said the nation remembers with gratitude all those it lost and paid homage to the security personnel who fought valiantly and made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.

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'POLITICAL REASONS'

On Friday, India told the UN that its efforts to sanction those involved in the 26/11 terror attacks have been blocked in the past for political reasons, enabling them to walk free and organise further cross-border assaults against the country.

India's remark came after China's repeated efforts to block the proposal by India and the US to blacklist Pakistan-based militant and Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed’s son, Hafiz Talah Saeed and designate him as a “global terrorist”. Hafiz Saeed is the mastermind behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

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(With inputs from PTI)