Close X
Saturday, November 16, 2024
ADVT 
India

Pakistani Probe Team 'Already' In India

Darpan News Desk IANS, 26 Feb, 2016 11:52 AM
    The Pakistani probe team has already arrived in India to probe the Pathankot airbase attack in Punjab, an official said.
     
    Punjab counter-terrorism department chief Muhammad Tahir Rai, who heads the high-powered Joint Investigation Team (JIT), has reached India along with some other officials, The Nation quoted a senior official as saying on Thursday.
     
    A JIT formed on the orders of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif formally started working last week, and its first meeting was convened in Lahore to discuss the case in detail, the report said.
     
    The Punjab province home department on Thursday also re-notified the JIT, ordering the investigators to submit the interim probe report to the court within two weeks.
     
    It was not clear if there was any change or the new notification retained the same members as that of the earlier JIT, which was constituted by the interior ministry in mid-January.
     
    A provincial government official confirmed that Tahir Rai, who is additional inspector general of police, has arrived in India and this move is being kept secret on both sides of the border.
     
    "What I can confirm is that Rai is in India right now. We can't tell how many officials accompany him," the official said on the request of anonymity.
     
    The official did not comment on the day the team left for India to probe the attack and for how many days it would be there.
     
    Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), a Pakistani militant outfit, was responsible for the attack on the airbase in Pathankot town on January 2.
     
    As many as seven security personnel were killed in the attack. The security forces also killed all six terrorists in over three days' operation.
     
    New Delhi said the fate of 'comprehensive dialogue process' -- started by both the countries recently to improve India-Pakistan ties -- depended on Islamabad's action against the perpetrators of the attack.
     
    Pakistan registered a case on the basis of leads provided by India and formed an investigation team comprising high-ranking officials of police and intelligence agencies.
     
    The counter-terrorism department (CTD) of Pakistan's Punjab province on Thursday lodged a case against six "non-state actors" for plotting the attack.
     
    Official sources in the Punjab home department said the JIT members during their visit to India would collect facts about the Pathankot attack.
     
    However, no information was provided weather the investigators was allowed to visit the Indian airbase as earlier New Delhi denied the team access to the airbase.
     
    One official said the team would also discuss modalities for carrying out joint investigations with their Indian counterparts.
     
    "Although no timeframe has been given to complete the probe, it is expected that the team will complete the investigations within 15 days," another official said.
     
    "If the probe remains incomplete after two weeks, the JIT may seek more time from the court since it is a matter of criminal procedure code."
     
    Earlier, four suspects were detained in connection with the phone numbers mentioned in the first information report.
     
    The investigators were examining the SIM registration and call data of the numbers. The mobile phone companies were asked to provide details of the persons using those phone numbers.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Debt-Ridden Maharashtra Farmer Feels Abandoned: Rahul Gandhi

    "My interaction with the farmers was very disturbing," Gandhi said at the end of his 15-km 'padyatra' (foot march) in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, where he met families of farmers who committed suicide after their crops failed.

    Debt-Ridden Maharashtra Farmer Feels Abandoned: Rahul Gandhi

    'Soojh-Boojh' Ki Sarkar, Not 'Suit-Boot', Arun Jaitley Tells Rahul

    'Soojh-Boojh' Ki Sarkar, Not 'Suit-Boot', Arun Jaitley Tells Rahul
    Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi for his 56-day sabbatical, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government was a "soojh-boojh ki sarkar", not "suit-boot ki sarkar" as claimed by the Congress vice-president recently.

    'Soojh-Boojh' Ki Sarkar, Not 'Suit-Boot', Arun Jaitley Tells Rahul

    India Slams US Report On Religious Freedom

    India Slams US Report On Religious Freedom
    India on Thursday said a report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) "appears to be based on limited understanding of India, its constitution and its society" and it would take "no cognizance of the report".

    India Slams US Report On Religious Freedom

    Farmers Integral To 'Make In India', Rahul Gandhi Tells Narendra Modi

    Farmers Integral To 'Make In India', Rahul Gandhi Tells Narendra Modi
    Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on problems in the agricultural sector, asking him to visit Punjab and learn about the plight of farmers who are integral to the government's flagship 'Make in India' initiative.

    Farmers Integral To 'Make In India', Rahul Gandhi Tells Narendra Modi

    Need For Youth To Imbibe Nehru's Scientific Temper: Modi

    Need For Youth To Imbibe Nehru's Scientific Temper: Modi
    A PMO release said that Modi, who chaired the 41st annual general meeting of NMML, suggested that it should attempt to maximize the use of technology to achieve a global presence.

    Need For Youth To Imbibe Nehru's Scientific Temper: Modi

    These Apps Help You Settle Down In A New Indian City

    These Apps Help You Settle Down In A New Indian City
    New to a city and still trying to find your moorings? Fret not, for there's a slew of smartphone apps that can help you settle down smoothly.

    These Apps Help You Settle Down In A New Indian City