26/11 attack perpetrators should be brought to justice: UK defence Secretary

NEW DELHI - Britain’s Defence Secretary Liam Fox has said that the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks ’should be brought to justice’ and that a stable Pakistan is in the interests of the international community.

‘The UK government has repeatedly emphasized that the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack should be brought to justice. Our Prime Minister David Cameron made crystal clear our country’s position… A stable, democratic and successful Pakistan is in all our longterm interest,’ Fox said here addressing a session titled UK Defence and Strategic Review here.

“It is essential that at every term we remind Pakistan of their duties and responsibilities as a global partner in the fight in transitional terrorism (militancy). Pakistan must ensure that those responsible for the outrage in Mumbai are brought to justice,” he added.

Calling transnational terrorism a ‘cancer that will eat us all’, he said that Britain’s counter terror strategy with Pakistan includes building a longterm relationship with Pakistan and continuing to work with the Pakistani government to tackle all extremist groups.

“We have to encourage the government of Pakistan to recognise that it is their security as well that we are talking about, because those who would use one country to export transnational terrorism to another, will ultimately be willing to unleash it on the host country itself,” he added.

Appreciating India’s contribution in Afghanistan, he said that the international community is grateful to India for its 1.2 billion dollars aid to Afghanistan.

‘We have recognised that there is no fully military solution to end the insurgency in Afghanistan. The ultimate solution is a political settlement that will preserve Afghanistan territorially by supporting the Afghan government and also by not upsetting the regional security balance,’ he added. (ANI)