India remains committed to working more closely with Nigeria in the global fight against terrorism, according to Mr Abhay Thakur, High Commissioner of India to Nigeria.
Thakur said this in a virtual address night in Abuja at a ceremony in honour of the families and commemoration of the survivors of the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack.
The event was organised by the Afro Asian Initiative for Community Development (AAIFCD).
He said that even after 13 years following the Mumbai terror attacks, India was still waiting for the perpatrators of the terrorist attacks to be brought to justice in Pakistan.
He added that that should be done as soon as possible to take the Mumbai attack chapter to a legal closure.
“We reject all such mindless violence, be it in South Asia or anywhere in the world.
“Let us not forget that terrorism in one part of the world affects another.
“Close counter-terrorism measures within countries are actually necessary to ensure that terrorists and their likes are neutralised completely.
“Today, we pay homage to those who lost their lives in the Mumbai attacks and also honour those who fought back, survived, and helped Mumbai come back to its feet quickly,
“In this context, I am glad to reiterate that India and Nigeria have always stood by each other in areas of counter-terrorism.
“We are, therefore, working closely, be it in the form of counter-insurgency or counter-terrorist groups, for the armed forces of Nigeria or in arranging for developing the ID detector, as kind of reach,” Thakur said.
He said that both India and Nigeria held the first counter-terrorism dialogue at the level of National Security Advisers in March, adding that both countries were determined to stem global terrorism.
The high commissioner recalled that during the Mumbai terrorist attacks which took place on April 26, 2008, 166 innocent civilians were killed, including 25 foreigners from 15 countries.
The countries are U.S., Germany, Israel, Australia, Canada, France, UK, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Italy, Netherlands, Singapore, Thailand, and Mauritius.
Also speaking, the President of AAIFCD, Kiran Gosovi said the Mumbai attack demonstrated that terrorism “is enemy to all mankind.
“Going by the horror everyone witnessed in the video, you can imagine what kind of brutality the Indian people and other foreign nationals must have gone through during the period.
“To prove more points on that one, let me just bring out some of the things in front of you.
“The Mumbai attack of 2008 demonstrated that even after the 9/11 terrorist attack … terrorists are enemies of all mankind.”
He stressed the need for stiff punishment for terrorism offences to serve as deterrence to all related crimes.
He said although the U.S. President, Joe Biden had condemned terrorism, not much had been done globally along that line in order to promote world peace. (NAN)
