New Delhi, November 25
On the eve of the second anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks, India has conveyed to Islamabad its disappointment over Pakistan’s failure to bring to justice the perpetrators of the carnage and unravel the larger conspiracy behind it.

In a strongly worded note verbale, the External Affairs Ministry regretted that despite the repeated assurances given by Pakistan’s leadership at the highest level and the extensive cooperation extended by India in connection with the ongoing trial and investigation in Pakistan, substantive and verifiable progress had not been made on bringing all the perpetrators and masterminds of the attacks to justice.

New Delhi once again called on Pakistan to fulfil its stated commitment to bring to justice the Mumbai attackers. “A time-bound fulfilment of its stated commitments by Pakistan would not only go a long way towards building trust and confidence between the two countries but would also be a reflection of Pakistan’s commitment to combat terrorism comprehensively,” the note said.

India also pointed out that lack of tangible progress in delivering on this vital commitment was increasingly being viewed in Indian public opinion as ‘dilatory and lacking in seriousness.’

In the note verbale, prepared in consultations with the Home Ministry, India is understood to have regretted that Pakistan had not provided any feedback on issues raised by New
Delhi, including the information on the names of seven people involved in the attacks given by Home Minister P Chidambaram during his meeting with his Pakistani counterpart in June in Islamabad.

These seven people included two officers in the Pakistan Army. The sources said New Delhi also reminded Islamabad that there had been no feedback from Pakistan on its request for voice samples of Pakistan-based ‘handlers’ of the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai, killing 166 people and injuring some 800 others, in a 72-hour siege of the city.

India also drew Pakistan’s attention towards the “lack of progress” in the trial of seven Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operatives in Pakistan who were arrested in connection with the attacks.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer promised that his country would continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with India in combating terrorism.

Mumbai, November 25
Two years after the terror attacks in Mumbai, security agencies are reporting success in roping in fisherfolk to help them in policing Maharashtra's 720-kilometre long coastline.

An initiative that began shortly after the 26/11 terror attacks has seen Coast Guard and Marine Police personnel interact regularly with fisherfolk, who are encouraged to report suspicious activity to the authorities.

“The initiative to turn fishermen as eyes and ears of the security forces is already paying us good dividends,” says an officer of the Yellowgate police station, which is in charge of the Mumbai coast.

According to the officer, the decision to rope in fishermen for security purposes has resulted in smuggling along the coast falling sharply in the past two years.

The smugglers’ network was used by the Dawood Ibrahim gang to bring in RDX that was used to carry out the serial bomb blasts in Mumbai in 1993.

Among the initiatives taken by the Coast Guard include supply of transmitters to fishermen venturing out into the sea. The Distress Alert Transmitter provided to the fisherfolk is used to relay information about suspicious behaviour to the Coast Guard.