Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump have called on Pakistan to “expeditiously” punish the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, even as the US approved the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, one of the key accused in the deadly attack, to India.
The US president met Modi at the White House on Thursday in their first bilateral meeting since Trump was elected for a second term in office.
During a joint press briefing with Modi, Trump announced that his administration had approved the extradition of one of the “very evil people” to India.
“He is going back to India to face justice,” Trump said. “We’re giving him back to India immediately,” he added, noting that more such extraditions could follow, as Washington had received multiple requests from New Delhi.
Following the announcement, Modi thanked Trump for the decision.
“I am thankful to the President for deciding to hand over the culprit who committed the killings in India in 2008. Indian courts will now take appropriate action,” Modi said.
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The prime minister emphasised that India and the US have stood “firmly together” in the fight against terrorism. Both sides agreed that concerted action is necessary to “eradicate” cross-border terrorism.
A joint statement noted that the two leaders were committed to strengthening cooperation against terrorist threats from groups including Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and Lashkar-e-Taiba to prevent heinous acts like the Mumbai attacks.
Both leaders also urged Pakistan to “speed up the process of bringing to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks and ensure that its soil is not used to carry out cross-border terror attacks,” the statement read.
On November 26, 2008, a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists launched a series of coordinated attacks at two luxury hotels, a Jewish centre, and a railway station after infiltrating India’s financial hub via the sea.
A total of 166 people were killed in a 60-hour-long gun battle that shocked the nation and brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war.
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