File photo of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, which was one of the targets of the 26/11 attacks.
India has lodged a strong diplomatic protest against the reported adjournments of the ongoing trial in Pakistan of those accused of the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, said government sources today.
The Pakistani Deputy High Commissioner in Delhi has been summoned by the Foreign Ministry, said sources, to complain against the delays. The government has demanded regular briefings from Pakistan on the progress of trial and the investigation being conducted by Pakistani authorities.
In Islamabad, the Indian Deputy High Commissioner went to the Pakistani Foreign Office to lodged a similar protest.
166 people were killed in 2008 when 10 terrorists from Pakistan attacked different parts of Mumbai; the siege lasted over 70 hours, nearly 300 people were injured.
The only terrorist caught alive, Ajmal Kasab, was hanged in Pune in 2012.
Pakistan has arrested seven people for the attack including Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, a top commander of terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba. However, the case has barely made any progress, creating a major stress point for India and its neigbour.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif to attend his swearing-in ceremony in May - a move aimed at improving relations that have been greatly strained in recent months with an array of violations of the ceasefire along the border in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Foreign Secretaries of the two countries, Sujatha Singh and Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, are scheduled to meet in Islamabad next month for talks.