Close X
Saturday, September 21, 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

    Tension Grips Jammu Town Over Alleged Desecration Of Quran

    Tension Grips Jammu Town Over Alleged Desecration Of Quran
    Tension gripped the hilly Bhaderwah town in Jammu region on Friday over allegations that miscreants desecrated the Quran.

    Tension Grips Jammu Town Over Alleged Desecration Of Quran

    Protests Against Guru Granth Sahib Desecration Continue In Punjab

    Protests Against Guru Granth Sahib Desecration Continue In Punjab
    Protests against the recent desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib continued on Wednesday in various parts of Punjab as the state police said it had solved five of the seven cases.

    Protests Against Guru Granth Sahib Desecration Continue In Punjab

    V.K. Singh Stirs Row With 'Dog' Remark, Clarifies

    V.K. Singh Stirs Row With 'Dog' Remark, Clarifies
    As opposition parties demanded his sacking, the former army chief clarified that he had been misunderstood.

    V.K. Singh Stirs Row With 'Dog' Remark, Clarifies

    I Spoke With PM Modi On Food And Spices: Chef Sanjeev Kapoor

    I Spoke With PM Modi On Food And Spices: Chef Sanjeev Kapoor
    During Modi's trip to Abu Dhabi in August, Kapoor was flown in specially to prepare a vegetarian meal for the strictly vegetarian prime minister.

    I Spoke With PM Modi On Food And Spices: Chef Sanjeev Kapoor

    Dussehra Special: Where Ravana's Effigy Isn't Burnt

    Dussehra Special: Where Ravana's Effigy Isn't Burnt
    Locals believe that Ravana was devotee of Lord Shiva and burning his effigy will invite the wrath of Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction.

    Dussehra Special: Where Ravana's Effigy Isn't Burnt

    Congress Attacks BJP For Rahul Photo Remark

    Congress Attacks BJP For Rahul Photo Remark
    No one indulges in photo opportunities more than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the media.

    Congress Attacks BJP For Rahul Photo Remark