The United States on Monday announced a reward of USD 5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual who was involved in the planning and execution of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
According to the reports, this major announcement from the Trump Administration of rewarding more than Rs 35 crores comes as India is mourning the 10th anniversary of the deadly terror attack in which 10-Pakistan based LeT terrorist entered India’s financial hub and had killed 174 people, including six Americans.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in remembrance of the Mumbai attacks issued a statement describing the Mumbai attack as a ‘barbarity’ and expressed his disappointment over the failure to convict terrorists involved in the attacks. He called upon Pakistan to uphold their UN Security Council obligations to implement sanctions against those responsible for the atrocity, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and its affiliates.
“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-Taiba and its affiliates,” Pompeo said.
Expressing his solidarity with the people of India, Secretary Pompeo said that the barbarity of 26/11 had shocked the entire world and the USA stand with the family and friends of the victims who lost their lives in the terror attack.
Pompeo said the United States is committed to bringing people responsible for the attack into justice. “The Department of State Rewards for Justice (RFJ) Program is offering a new reward for up to USD 5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of any individual who was involved in planning or facilitating the 2008 Mumbai attack,” said Pompeo.
The US government’s announcement is third such RFJ reward offer seeking information regarding the perpetrators of Mumbai terror attack. Previously, the US administration had issued RFJ reward to seek information on dreaded terrorist and LeT founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and another LeT leader Hafiz Abdul Rahman Makki.
The Rewards for Justice program is administered by the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. The initiative was started in 1984, which has rewarded more than $150 million to over 100 people for providing actionable information that helped bring terrorists to justice or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide.
The 26/11 terror attacks took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamic terrorist organisation based in Pakistan, carried out a series of 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks at several locations in Mumbai. The attacks began on 26 November killing 174 people and injuring more than 300 people.