India has said that the victims of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and the 2016 Pathankot strike are yet to get justice because of the “unwillingness” and “non-cooperative” attitude of a particular country, referring to Pakistan.

Speaking at a virtual ministerial meeting of the ‘Group of Friends of Victims of terrorism’, secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs Vijay Thakur Singh, representing India, said, “I would like to highlight that, for example, the victims of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack and 2016 Pathankot terror attack are yet to get justice. This is due to the unwillingness and non-cooperative attitude of a particular country.”

At the meeting on Monday, Singh also called for “redressing deficiencies” in the international efforts to ensure that perpetrators of terrorism are brought to justice, as per PTI reports.

Singh strongly pitched for concerted global actions to effectively deal with terrorism and said it continues to pose a critical threat to international peace and security even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

ALSO READ| ‘Pakistan a killing field for minorities’: India at United Nations

The meeting was organised by foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Spain, the two co-chairs of the grouping, and the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT).

In her address, Singh said acts of terrorism not only violate the rights of individual victims but they also deeply affect the enjoyment of a range of rights by the families of the victims and society as a whole.

“Even, amid the ongoing pandemic, terrorism continues to pose a critical threat to international peace and security,” Singh said in an oblique reference to Pakistan.

Singh expressed her concern over the dangers of terrorists stepping up the use of information and communication technology networks for propaganda and for issuing threats, further exacerbating the stress on victims of terror.

Highlighting the pain and suffering of the innocent victims of terrorism across the world, she said while terrorists can never succeed in achieving their “nefarious objectives”, they leave behind a trail of death and destruction.

The Secretary (East) appreciated the UN for establishing August 21 as the ‘International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism’, and hoped the UN would continue its work related to addressing the needs of victims of terrorism.