Perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai attacks roam freely in Pak?
Lahore, Feb 21 (PTI) The perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks are still roaming freely in Pakistan and Pakistanis should not feel offended when India talks about the 2008 carnage, lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar has said.
In a viral video from the seventh Faiz Festival organised here in memory of celebrated Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, the writer was seen making these comments in response to a member in the audience who told Akhtar to take with him a message of peace and tell Indians that Pakistan is “a positive, friendly and loving country”.
“We should not blame each other. It will solve nothing. The atmosphere is tense, that should be doused,” the 78-year-old lyricist said.
“We are people from Mumbai, we have seen the attack on our city. They (attackers) did not come from Norway or Egypt. They are still roaming freely in your country. So if there is a grievance in the heart of a Hindustani, you should not feel offended,” Akhtar said at the event that was hosted by Adil Hashmi, the grandson of poet Faiz.
Akhtar also told the gathering that even though Pakistani artists like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hasan have been warmly welcomed in India, Pakistan has never held a single show of Lata Mangeshkar.
“We hosted big functions of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hasan. You (Pakistan) never organised a function for Lata Mangeshkar,” the poet said, drawing loud cheers and applause from the audience.
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About 26/11 attack
Thirteen years ago on November 26, 10 LeT terrorists stormed into the financial capital of the country with the sole aim of wrecking it to the core — for three consecutive days, the city of Mumbai was wrapped in the grip of terror. The violence claimed lives of 166 people, including foreigners.
Thirteen years ago, on the night of November 26, 2008, ten Pakistan-based terrorists launched a coordinated shooting and bombing attacks in Mumbai at five major locations, killing 166 people and injuring over 300 people.
The Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists targeted five prominent places of the financial capital – Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station, Nariman House business and residential complex, Cama Hospital, Leopold Cafe, the Oberoi-Trident Hotel, and Taj Hotel and Tower.
The terrorists reached Mumbai on a hijacked fishing trawler from a Pakistani port in Karachi.
While nine terrorists were killed in the four-day operation by the armed forces, the lone terrorist Ajmal Kasab was captured alive and sentenced to death at Yerwada Central Jail in Pune in 2012.
The terrorists hijacked cars, including a police van, and split into different groups to carry out the attacks. They used automatic weapons and grenades to storm the sites.
The Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus was the site of the first attack. At around 9.20 pm. The attack lasted about 90 minutes, leaving 58 people dead and over 100 injured.
The second attack was reported about 8-10 minutes later at the Nariman House business and residential complex housing the Jewish Chabad Lubavitch outreach centre.
Before attacking it, the terrorists blew up a gas station. At around 9.40 pm, four terrorists struck the upscale and popular Leopold Cafe. They sprayed gunfire on the diners, killing 10 of them. The attack lasted between 10 to 15 minutes. The terrorists also planted bombs in two taxis that killed five people and injured 15.
They then proceed to the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel. They first attacked guests around the swimming pool and then moved inside to the bars and restaurants. Two of the terrorists entered the hotel through the front door and started shooting and throwing grenades. They killed at least 31 people in this four-day siege.
The terrorists set off bombs under the central dome of the Taj Mahal hotel, setting off a massive fire, which later raged through the top floors of the Taj.