Key conspirators of 26/11 attack remain protected: Jaishankar

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Friday said in Mumbai that “the key conspirators and planners of the 26/11 attacks continue to remain protected and unpunished.” Not mentioning Pakistan or China, he said, “when it comes to proscribing some of these terrorists, the Security Council has regrettably been unable to act in some cases because of political considerations.”

Delivering his inaugural address at an informal briefing on combating terror financing in Mumbai, Dr Jaishankar said, this “undermines our collective credibility and our collective interests,” he said.

The event was held before another special meeting of the committee in New Delhi on Saturday. Among those president was the UNSC president Michael Moussa Adamo, who is Gabon’s foreign minister.

Delivering a separate special statement before that at the UN Security Council Counter-terrorism Committee, the minister said that while efforts have been made to “bring the masterminds and perpetrators of this attack to justice, this task remains unfinished.”

Listing five points for the panel’s consideration, he said, “we need to ensure that the effective and transparent functioning of the Security Council sanctions regime and make sure that they are not rendered ineffective for political reasons”, adding “objective and evidence-based proposals for listing of terrorist groups, especially those that curb their access to financial resources must be seen through”.

He added: “We should send out the message that the international community will never give up on holding terrorists accountable and delivering justice (and that) 26/11 will never ever be forgotten”.

While many of the 26/11 masterminds continue to operate with impunity from Pakistan, India has been dismayed by the fact that Islamabad’s all-weather friend China has been blocking New Delhi’s efforts at the UNSC by placing technical holds on proposals by India and other Western nations to place sanctions on the Pakistan-based terrorists.

Dr Jaishankar said: “Our real tribute to the victims will be to rededicate ourselves to combating and eliminating the menace of terrorism. And this by stronger determination and joint action. We must rise above our political differences to address this scourge. The battle against terrorism must be fought resolutely at all fronts, all situations and all places. We cannot be found wanting in our efforts.”

 “Terrorism is a serious threat to the international peace and security, indeed to the entire humanity. We have heard the voices of its victims today. Their loss is immeasurable and can never be made up. However, it is incumbent on us, as responsible members of the international community, to remember their trauma and to persevere in our efforts to bring the perpetrators of terrorism to justice. We owe this to every victim of terrorism across the world,” the minister said, adding that there has been the “steeling of national resolve” and that “decades of cross border terror has not and will not weaken our commitment to fight back”.