The Pakistani Taliban has vowed to avenge the execution of the 26/11 terrorist
The Pakistani Taliban vowed yesterday to carry out attacks against India to avenge the death of a man executed by Indian authorities for his role in the 2008 terrorist assault on Mumbai.
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Mohammed Ajmal Qasab, a Pakistani, was hanged Wednesday in Pune.
He was the lone surviving terrorist from the attacks in Mumbai in November 2008 that killed more than 160 people.
Ihsanullah Ihsan, the spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, said the militant group would conduct various attacks in India in response to the execution. He didn’t provide further details.
The Pakistani Taliban, who are closely linked with their namesake in Afghanistan and with al-Qaeda, operate in the ungoverned area that sits on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
India has requested extra protection for its diplomats in Pakistan following the execution, said JP Singh, an official at India’s Ministry of External Affairs. He said the ministry had no immediate comment on the threat from the Taliban.
The Taliban spokesman said they are demanding that Qasab’s body be returned to Pakistan for an Islamic burial.
He criticised the Pakistani government, saying it had failed by not requesting the return of the body.
Indian authorities said on Wednesday that Qasab had been buried in the “surrounding area” of the jail where he was hanged.
They didn’t say what kind of burial rites had been performed.
The Pakistani government has not commented on the execution. The foreign ministry declined to give an immediate reaction to the Taliban’s criticism. u00a0