NIA chief’s remark on Pak stirs up a storm

A statement apparently made by National Investigation Agency chief Sharad Kumar to a news channel that so far there was no evidence to suggest the involvement of a Pakistan government agency in the attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot triggered a controversy on Friday and gave Pakistan the opportunity to say that it vindicated Islamabad’s long-standing position on the Pathankot attack.

The NIA later issued a clarification saying Mr Kumar had not made any such comment and that the same are “strongly refuted”. It claimed he had been misquoted. The NIA chief had reportedly told the channel, “No. So far, no evidence to show that Pakistan government or Pakistani government agency was helping Jaish-e-Mohammed or Masood Azhar or his aides carry out Pathankot attack (sic).”

The MEA on Friday said the NIA director-general had already issued a clarification and put out the government’s position that “the involvement of Pakistan’s nationals in the Pathankot air base attack is an accepted fact”.