US envoy pays tribute to Pune blast victims

PUNE - Stressing that the US stood “shoulder-to-shoulder” with India in its war against terror, US Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer Wednesday visited the German Bakery here and condemned the Feb 13 bombing that killed 17 people and injured 50 others.

“On behalf of the people of the United States, I extend heartfelt sympathy to the government of India and the victims of the tragic terrorist blast in Pune. The US remains shoulder-to-shoulder with India in the fight against terror and will assist as needed to help bring the perpetrators of this cowardly act to justice,” said Roemer.

Ram Gopal Kirkee, manager of the German Bakery, told mediapersons, that they plan to reopen the bakery by August.

Roemer reinforced the commitment to the US-India strategic cooperation, which he described as an “important pillar of our indispensable partnership”.

As part of this cooperation, Roemer said, the US would help India by giving it access to David Headley, the Pakistani-American suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba operative who has admitted his role in planning the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

He indicated that access to Headley may come within days or weeks.

“Headley symbolises the unprecedented but historic cooperation between Washington and New Delhi on the aspect of global security. America recognises Headley’s importance for the Indian government,” Roemer told reporters here.

Referring to the Sep 11, 2001, terror attacks in the US, he said: “Back then, we never got any direct access to the (9/11) mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. We want to ensure India gets access to Headley.”

Terming the death sentence given to Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab as fair, the US ambassador said Pakistan had been told to do more to bring the 26/11 masterminds to book.

“During my recent visit to Islamabad, we have told authorities that six Americans were slaughtered in the Mumbai carnage. We need to see more progress about suspects being held in Pakistan custody and that justice needs to be delivered,” he said.

Acknowledging Pakistan’s contribution to fighting terror, he stressed that Islamabad needed “to do more to deal with the terrorism originating from its soil”.

Roemer also presented certificates to the English language teachers of madrassas and Urdu schools at the Azam Campus run by the Maharashtra Cosmopolitan and Education Society.