India demands Pakistan to hand out exemplary punishment to 26/11 accused - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

India on Wednesday demanded Pakistan to hand out exemplary punishment for all those involved in carrying out last November's militant strikes in Mumbai. A Pakistani court indicted seven Pakistani suspects on terror charges on Wednesday in connection with the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. But the move didn't impress India that demanded "rigorous prosecution and conviction followed by an exemplary punishment." "The charge sheet itself is not a surprise because these people have been behind the bars for some months already. What we like to see is the rigorous prosecution that is mounted by and conviction followed by an exemplary punishment that is essential," said Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for External Affairs. "In addition to that, seven is not the whole story, there are others at loose in Pakistan or elsewhere who have clearly been involved in planning, financing, guiding and leading this terrible attack on our citizens and our country. "So, we want search for these missing elements to be continued and we want Pakistan to take further steps to dismantle the infrastructure of terror from which such attacks have been mounted," he said. "It's never too little or too late because it is the beginning as far as we are concerned and we need more, we are not going to say anything negative about a process that at least has began but we need much more than this...we are not going to express satisfaction until the conviction and punishment has occurred and until the net spreads to others, before the chilling voice of the man giving orders to the killers in Mumbai on TV stations around the world...Is that person among them? If not, when they are going to find him?" added Tharoor. Ten gunmen landed on Mumbai shores by boats at sunset on November 26, 2008 and fired indiscriminately at a busy railway station, a Jewish settlement, restaurant and luxury hotels. Several people were held hostage for the next three days and at least 166 people were killed before commandoes smoked out the last of the terrorists on November 28th. India suspended a 2004 peace process with Pakistan, blaming Lashkar-e-Taiba group, which is fighting Indian forces in Kashmir, for the 26/11 attack on country's financial hub that New Delhi says could not have been mounted without support of some official agencies. Pakistan has acknowledged that the Mumbai attack was plotted and partly launched from its soil and has put on trial seven suspects.