No response from India after 26/11; things have changed now: Jaishankar
“We should not have a repeat of what happened in Mumbai — that there was a terror attack and there was no response,” says EAM Jaishankar
There was no response from the Indian side after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has claimed, asserting that things would be different had such an incident happened today.
The Mumbai terror attacks took place in November 2008, when Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists held the city at ransom, carrying out a series of coordinated attacks at strategic locations, killing 166 people and injuring some 300. The Congress-led UPA government was at the helm then.
“We should not have a repeat of what happened in Mumbai — that there was a terror attack and there was no response,” Jaishankar told reporters in Mumbai on Sunday (October 27).
“Mumbai is a symbol of counter-terrorism for India and the world,” the minister added.
Also read: Mumbai attacks | UPA govt took no military action on grounds of cost: EAM Jaishankar
“There will be a response” now
When India was a member of the UN Security Council, it was chairing the counter-terrorism committee, Jaishankar said. “We held the counter-terrorism panel meeting in the same hotel that was hit by the terror attack,” he added. The said meeting was held in October 2022.
“People know that India is standing strong against terrorism. We are today leaders in fighting terrorism,” Jaishankar said.
“When we talk of zero tolerance against terror, it is clear that when somebody does something, there will be a response,” he added.
Also read: India slams 'doublespeak' in UN Security Council, questions veto-blocking of terrorist listings
What has changed
“We also have to expose. It is not acceptable that you are doing business during daytime and indulging in terror during the night and I have to pretend that everything is okay. This India will not accept it. This is what has changed,” the minister said.
“We will expose terrorism and we will act where we have to act,” he asserted.
Jaishankar also said India and China would soon resume patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, restoring the arrangement as it was in April 2020, before the border standoff began.
“We expect to return to pre-October 31, 2020, patrolling arrangements in areas like Demchok and Depsang. This will take some time,” Jaishankar said.
(With agency inputs)