Close X
Friday, September 20, 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

    'No Talk Of Mythology At Science Meet This Year'

    'No Talk Of Mythology At Science Meet This Year'
    The once-bitten-twice-shy scientific community has decided to stick to the basic or applied science, keeping out mythology from their annual jamboree this time.

    'No Talk Of Mythology At Science Meet This Year'

    Pathankot Operation Nears Completion; 7 Securitymen Killed

    The terrorists, suspected to be from Pakistan and who attacked the IAF base, failed to destroy IAF assets due to timely action by security forces, union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi said in New Delhi on Sunday.

    Pathankot Operation Nears Completion; 7 Securitymen Killed

    Oman Chandy To Hold Reception For Ghulam Ali In Kerala

    Oman Chandy To Hold Reception For Ghulam Ali In Kerala
    Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will lead a reception here for Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali on January 14 ahead of his performance.

    Oman Chandy To Hold Reception For Ghulam Ali In Kerala

    CPI Leader A.B. Bardhan Dead

    CPI Leader A.B. Bardhan Dead
    Communist Party of India (CPI) national secretary D. Raja said: "It's a great loss not only for CPI but for entire communist movement of country."

    CPI Leader A.B. Bardhan Dead

    Minor's Gang Rape: Absconding BSF Men Arrested, Sent To Custody

    Minor's Gang Rape: Absconding BSF Men Arrested, Sent To Custody
    Two BSF troopers, who were arrested from Assam for allegedly gang-raping a minor inside a moving train, were sent to judicial custody on Saturday by a West Bengal court, police said.

    Minor's Gang Rape: Absconding BSF Men Arrested, Sent To Custody

    Terror Attack At Pathankot Air Base Foiled, 4 Terrorists Dead After Day-Long Gun-Battle

    Terror Attack At Pathankot Air Base Foiled, 4 Terrorists Dead After Day-Long Gun-Battle
    Police sources said that at least three IAF security personnel were killed and four others were injured in the terror attack that started around 3.30 a.m. The counter offensive lasted nearly 15 hours

    Terror Attack At Pathankot Air Base Foiled, 4 Terrorists Dead After Day-Long Gun-Battle