China calls 2008 Mumbai terror attack 'notorious'

China has described as "one of the most notorious terror attacks" the 2008 Mumbai killings for which Pakistan was blamed.

The statement was made in a white paper called "The Fight Against Terrorism and Extremism and Human Rights Protection in Xinjiang" released by the Chinese government on Monday.

In the chapter "International Counter-terrorism Exchanges and Cooperation", the white paper bracketed the Mumbai attack with the 2005 London bombings that killed 52 people, the Paris 2015 attack which left 132 dead and the 2017 Sinai mosque attack that killed 235 people.

"China opposes all forms of terrorism and extremism, and opposes double standards on fighting terrorism. It opposes linking terrorism and extremism with specific countries, ethnic groups or religions," the white paper said.

It said that "as a responsible member of the international community", China also supported the UN in "playing a leading and coordinating role in international cooperation against terrorism".

The white paper came on the day when Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi arrived in Beijing on a three-day visit during which he will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi under the first China-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue.

The Mumbai terror attack in November 2008 was carried out at multiple locations within a small geographical area by members of the Pakistan-based terror group, Lashkar-e-Taiba.

--IANS

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