US should put pressure on Pak Govt., army to hand over 26/11 perpetrators: Defence expert

Defence expert Qamar Agha on Wednesday said India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue on combating terrorism is a step in the right direction, as it will further pressurise the Pakistan to hand over the perpetrators of 26/11 to India.

"Now, I hope after this meeting(US-India joint statement), the pressure will be built on Pakistan. I think that, time has come that Americans put more pressure on Pakistan. American administration should pressurise Pakistani Army, which is the most powerful institution in Pakistan, to stop militant and terrorist activities and arrest the perpetrators of 26/11 and hand over to India,"Agha told ANI here.

"26/11 is a very important issue and people are still waiting for justice. It not only affected the Indians , but also Americans, Israelis and people of other nationalities. The perpetrators of 26/11 are still openly operating in Pakistan and engineering attacks against India. Pressure should be built on Pakistan to arrest Hafiz Saeed, Lakhvi and others who were involved in the heinous crime," he added.

India and US have agreed to increase their level of cooperation to fight the menace of terrorism. In a joint declaration issued in Washington last night, both the countries have recognized the threat posed by terrorist groups like Laskhar-e-Tayeba and said that they have asked Pakistan that it must bring to justice the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.