Pathankot airbase assault: Top Indian sleuth rules out Pakistan’s hand

NIA chief Sharad Kumar says Indian officials have wrapped up investigations

ISLAMABAD: Six months after New Delhi used the Pathankot attacks as a pretext to scrap foreign secretary level talks with Islamabad, India’s top investigator said on Thursday there was no evidence the Pakistan government or any state functionary was involved in the assault.

Islamabad called the comments ‘a vindication of its stance’ on the issue.

“So far, there is no evidence to show that the Pakistan government or any government agency was helping Jaish or Masood Azhar or his aides carry out the Pathankot attack,” stated Sharad Kumar, director general of India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA).

On January 2, at least five militants stormed an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Indian Punjab. The attacks left at least seven Indian personnel dead. While the obscure United Jihad Council claimed responsibility for the attacks, New Delhi blamed Islamabad and the banned Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) group. It also scuppered a meeting between the foreign secretaries of the respective countries, scheduled for mid-January, to extend the comprehensive bilateral dialogue.



Though Pakistan extended cooperation to India, it formed a special team to probe specific ‘evidence’ presented by India and subsequently registered a FIR about the incident. A joint investigation team formed as part of the FIR process later travelled to India in early April, visiting the scene of the crime while receiving further briefings and evidence from Indian investigators.

India has managed to secure red corner notices against Azhar from Interpol, though a bid to have the UN place sanctions on him was defeated.

In an interview with CNN-News18 on Thursday, Kumar said officials have wrapped up investigations into the attacks on the Indian side and found no evidence of involvement from the Pakistan government or any agency facilitating the attack, as previously claimed by New Delhi. Kumar also refuted Islamabad’s claim that an ‘inside hand’ could possibly be involved in the attack.

“Investigations so far do not point to any inside hand,” he said. He refused to comment on the status of police official SP Salwinder Singh, who is involved in key aspects of the assault. “At this point, we don’t want to give him a clean chit.” Asked about Indian investigators visiting Pakistan, the NIA DG said they had not yet received a green light from New Delhi.

Kumar expressed the hope to cement their investigations by visiting Pakistan. However, in the case the team is not allowed to travel west, it will not make a difference on their charge-sheet.

“As far as charge-sheet in this case goes, we will file a charge-sheet even if Pakistan does not allow our team to visit. We have sufficient and stringent evidence against Azhar and his brother Rauf Azhar and we will include those in our charge sheet.”

Stance vindicated

Responding to Kumar’s comments, Islamabad said it proves Pakistan’s position on the matter. “The statement of DG NIA, government of India, has vindicated Pakistan’s longstanding position in the context,” stated Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria.

“Pakistan’s spirit of cooperation is manifested in the action we took in the wake of the alleged incident.” Zakaria further said that the visit of Pakistani JIT to India was made in this context.

“The JIT is examining whatever information and intelligence has been shared by India during the visit,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2016.