The US has announced a fresh reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual who was involved in the planning or facilitating the 2008 Mumbai attack, as it specifically asked Pakistan to uphold its obligations to implement the sanctions against those responsible for the act of terror.
The Trump administration announced the new reward (of over Rs 35 crore) on the 10th anniversary of the terror attack in which 10 Pakistan-based LeT terrorist went on a shooting rampage in India’s financial hub killing 166 people, including six Americans.
“The US Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) Program is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual who committed, conspired to commit, or aided or abetted in the execution of the 2008 Mumbai attack,” the State Department said in a statement on Sunday.
“Key members of this heinous plot remain at large, and this investigation remains active and ongoing. This reward offer extends to any individual who bears responsibility for this act of terror,” the RFJ said in a separate statement.
The move comes less than a fortnight after Vice President Mike Pence had a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Singapore, during which he is believed to have himself raised this issue and ruled that even 10 years after the Mumbai terrorist attack its perpetrators have not been brought to justice.
Describing the Mumbai terror attack as a “barbarity”, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called upon Pakistan and other nations to uphold their UN Security Council obligations to implement sanctions against those responsible for the atrocity, including the LeT and its affiliates.
