It was in the small hours of February 14 morning in India , when the US President Donald Trump made a big announcement of approving extradition of 26/11 accused Tahawwur Rana to India to face justice . This announcement was made in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House press briefing, marking conclusion of his remarkable visit to the US.
The February 14 is embedded in the memory of the Indians as a day when 40 CRPF men were martyred in Pulwama , south Kashmir , in a terror attack orchestrated by Pakistan six years ago . So, this announcement of the US President assumed great significance in the context of fight against terrorism that India has launched to eliminate this danger to the humanity once and for all.
26/11 is numerical calendar abbreviation for a series of terror assaults in Mumbai in November 2008 in which more than 180 persons of several nationalities, including Americans, were killed at the hands of a band of 10 terrorists exported to India by Pakistan via sea . They shook peace and iconic structures, including Taj hotel near Gateway of India. The mayhem lasted for three days. It was 9/11 moment for India.
NEWS ANALYSIS
It is not difficult to understand the link between February 14, 2019, the sixth anniversary of which is being observed across the country, paying floral tributes to the 40 CRPF personnel who made supreme sacrifice on this day. The source of the terror attacks in Mumbai in November 2008 and February 14 in Lethpora, Pulwama, was same. The terrorists were activated and launched by Pakistan. Trump’s announcement was a big vindication of the stand of India against Pakistan that over the decades has been exporting terrorism to India
While making announcement , the US President said: ” I am pleased to announce that my administration has approved the extradition of one of the plotters (Tahawwur Rana ) and one of the very evil people of the world , having to do with the horrific 2008 Mumbai terror attack to face justice in India.”
“He is going back to India to face justice,” Trump added.
Tahawwur Rana has been charge sheeted for his role in plotting the Mumbai terror attack. He has deep links with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, a key conspirator in the attacks. Rana is a Pakistani-origin businessman having close links with Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence ( ISI)
The extradition of Tahawwur Rana to India to face justice is a big diplomatic win for India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This shows his consistent anti-terrorism approach in which terror violence has no place and the punishment for the perpetrators and plotters of the terror attacks is ensured. Securing Tahawwur Rana’s extradition after more than 16 years from the US was not an easy task. Modi did it by summoning all the anti-terrorism enthusiasts to the same page, and he found President Trump on his side on the issue.
This very development is not just a big political and diplomatic victory for the Modi government at home , where the next to kin of the victims of 26/11 were waiting for punishment to the perpetrators of the heinous crime against humanity , but sends a message across the globe that Modi ‘s fight against terrorism dismantles all barriers even if those happen to be seas across. He has covered time and space. Unlike his predecessors, he took up the fight against terrorism to its logical conclusion. His predecessors were not only indifferent but callous in dealing with terrorism. This was a big failure which encouraged Pakistan to go in for repeated terror attacks. Had they taken Modi government type approach, many terror attacks on the Indian soil could have been prevented. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, and it fell on shoulders of Midi to clear the mud all around.
In short, Modi has scored a big diplomatic triumph vis-à-vis fight against terrorism.