Roemer pays tribute to German Bakery blast victims

Pune, May 13 (ANI): US Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer visited Pune’s German Bakery on Wednesday to pay tribute to victims of the blast.

Talking to reporters here, Roemer said: “I am humbled to be standing in front of the German Bakery, the site of the terrible terrorist attack.

He laid a wreath at the blast site, and said, that he was proud to see the resilience, faith and hope shown by the people of Pune.

“Hope and faith and resilience and opportunity is the message coming from Pune and it doesn’t just light India, it surrounds and communicates this whole message to the world about this bravery and this resilience and this message of hope,” he added.

He also said that as Pakistan was the epicentre of terrorism, Washington is encouraging Islamabad to address this threat internally on a pro-active note.

“I served on the 9/11 commission and for those of you who have read the report back five years ago, we said in that 9/11 report that Pakistan was the epicentre of terrorism and that they needed to address this threat internally and more actively. We are encouraging them, we are pushing them, we are cajoling them to do more,” he added.

He also met the German Bakery owners in the Koregaon Park area and hailed their efforts to rebuild the landmark eatery.

“It is a testament to the courage and resilience of the people of Pune and the city’s openness and tolerance,” he added.

The Pune blast, which killed seventeen people and wounded at least 57, was seen as the first major attack on India since the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. (ANI)