China calls 26/11 Mumbai attacks one of the ‘most notorious’, opposes linking terrorism ’with specific countries’

In a rare acknowledgment, China on Monday described the 2008 Mumbai attacks carried out by Pakistan-based LeT terror outfit one of “the most notorious terrorist attacks”. In a white paper on its massive crackdown against militants in the restive Xianjiang province, China said the global spread of terrorism and extremism over the years had inflicted agony on humanity. The release of the paper titled “The Fight Against Terrorism and Extremism and Human Rights Protection in Xinjiang” interestingly coincided with Pakistan Foreign Minister’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s visit to China. [caption id=“attachment_4196897” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] Throughout the world, terrorism and extremism gravely threaten peace and development, and endanger the life and property of individuals, said the white paper released by China’s State Council Information Office. The paper came days after China, for the fourth time, blocked a bid in the United Nations Security Council on 13 March to designate Pakistan-based chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group Masood Azhar as a “global terrorist” by putting a technical hold on the proposal, a move India termed as disappointing. The JeM claimed responsibility for the 14 February Pulwama attack that left 40 CRPF personnel dead and escalated tensions between India and Pakistan. “Striking aggressively at terrorism and furthering the de-radicalisation effort is the common responsibility of the international community and essential to the protection of human rights,” it said. China opposes all forms of terrorism and extremism and opposes double standards on fighting terrorism, said the white paper, adding that Beijing opposes linking terrorism and extremism with specific countries, ethnic groups or religions. China advocates comprehensive measures to address both the symptoms and the root causes, with the dual purposes of striking at terrorist activities and eliminating poverty, so that there will be no room for terrorism to breed, it said. In one of the most horrific terrorist attacks in the country’s history, 166 people were killed and over 300 injured as 10 heavily-armed terrorists from Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) created mayhem in Mumbai on 26 November, 2008. Nine of the attackers were killed by the police, and the lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was captured and hanged after he was handed down a death sentence by an Indian court. Perpetrators of the 26/11 attack, including its mastermind and banned Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Speed, continue to roam freely in Pakistan. The US has offered a $10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice.