India has been pushing Pakistan to give it access to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar in connection with the Pathankot attack and other terror acts, officials said.
India has been pushing Pakistan to give it access to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar in connection with the Pathankot attack and other terror acts, officials said.
A team of Indian investigators will soon visit Pakistan and New Delhi insists they should be given access to Maulana Masood Azhar and other suspects arrested for their alleged role in the Pathankot strike.
Soon after the January 2 attack, Pakistan had turned down an Indian proposal to jointly interrogate Maulana Masood Azhar and other suspects.
Pakistan had sent a joint investigation team to India in consultation with the government of India for further probe. The JIT concluded its six-day investigations on Friday.
Officials said Pakistani investigators visited Pathankot Air Force base and met witnesses, including the cop whose car was used in the terror attack.
At the conclusion of Pakistan team’s visit, India’s National Investigation Agency chief Sharad Kumar said an Indian team will soon be in Pakistan to carry the probe further. He said Pakistan had “welcomed the decision” but the dates had not yet been fixed.
In Pakistan, the Indian team aims to build case against Maulana Masood Azhar and try to prove his alleged involvement in the Pathankot attack.
Officials said India’s NIA had asked for access to Maulana Azhar, his voice samples and those of his close aides.
In India, Pakistani officials examined 16 witnesses, including Mr Salwinder Singh, the policeman whose vehicle was car-jacked by the terrorists.
Reports said the Pakistani JIT had been handed over some documents pertaining to the probe, including the DNA reports of the alleged terrorists killed in the days-long gunbattle at the airbase.
A senior government official said Pakistan was unlikely to give access to Maulana Masood Azhar but might consider allowing the Indians to quiz the arrested suspects.
“Maulana Masood Azhar has been interrogated and we found no compelling evidence against him. There is almost no possibility the higher-ups will allow Indians to interrogate him. The Indians definitely want it and are pressing for it,” he added. He said Pakistan did not have any reservation against the Indian team’s visit.
“They can come and see we are seriously investigating. We are committed to punish anybody who is involved in terrorism inside or outside Pakistan,” the official said.
Another official said the Indian government had not given enough freedom to Pakistan investigators for an independent assessment. “They handed some of their own evidences which could have been shared even if the team was not in India. At this point, we do not have actionable evidence against Maulana Masood Azhar. Once the team submits a report, we will see further where we stand,” he maintained.
Pakistan authorities held Maulana Masood Azhar in “protective custody” after the January 2 Pathankot incident and arrested other suspects, besides shutting a number of JeM-run madrasas (seminaries) in different cities.
Officials said Maulana Azhar, who was released from an Indian prison in 1999 in exchange for the release of 155 passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane, was quizzed by Pakistani investigators.
The JeM chief’s brother Mufti Abdul Rehman Rauf was also detained. But the investigators did not find any “actionable evidence” against Maulana Azhar or his outfit.
