Won't rest till Mumbai attackers are punished: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said Mumbai attacks were a calculated attempt by forces outside the country to destabilise our secular polity to create communal discord and undermine the country's economic and social progress, asserting that ''the government will not rest till we have brought the perpetrators of this crime to justice.'' Addressing a press conference on the eve of first anniversary of 26/11 at the Willard Hotel where he is staying, the Prime Minister said, ''This is our solemn duty.'' He said India had taken up the matter ''with all the forces at our command with the government of Pakistan.

''India expected the masterminds of the serious attacks and their supporters to be tried and punished,'' he said, adding that the infrastructure of terrorism and all the safe havens had to be dismantled within that country. ''India's committment to an open democractic and secular society will not be shaken by such assaults on our way of life. We have taken several measures to strengthen our security and intelligence and effective response mechanism to deter such threats in future has been put in place. We will take more such steps till we are satisfied that we have foolproof arrangement,'' Dr Singh said.

''I wish to reassure to the nation that strengthening of internal security is the top priority of the government and we will leave no stone unturned to safeguard and protect the lives of the citizen.

This is a day of rememberance and of paying homage to all the innocent civilians and our brave men in uniform who lost their lives in one of the first such terrorist attacks our country has seen, he said.

On behalf of the nation, ''I would like to send a message to each and every one of their families that we share their grief with a heavy heart. We will never forget the suffering they have gone through. Our thoughts are with them as they pray for the soul of their loved ones.''

-- (UNI) -- 25DF17.xml

Viewer's Comment

Comments Not Available

More Stories