Pathankot probe: Pakistan to consider Indian request for visit after Eid

National security advisers in contact with each other, says official

ISLAMABAD: The government will decide after Eidul Fitr whether or not to allow Indian investigators to visit Pakistan in connection with their probe into a deadly attack on an Indian airbase.

Six Indian servicemen were killed when six gunmen laid siege to the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, in Indian Punjab, in January 2016. New Delhi blamed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militant group for orchestrating the brazen assault, though its top intelligence official admitted they don’t have evidence to establish that the Pakistani state was in any way involved.



A high-level meeting to be attended by top civil and military officials will be convened by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after he returns from London to discuss an Indian request for a visit by its investigators and issues related to the future of bilateral dialogue between the two neighbours.

A senior official, who is part of the government’s core team dealing with India, told The Express Tribune that the meeting would decide whether to allow a team from India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) to travel to Pakistan for carrying forward the probe into the Pathankot attack.

Islamabad, which strongly condemned the attack, had formed a joint investigation team, which undertook a week-long visit to India in March to determine the involvement of JeM in the attack. The team comprising officials from police and intelligence agencies had met officials from NIA in New Delhi and had also been given access to the Pathankot airbase where the attack took place.

However, Pakistan contended that its investigators were given limited access as they were not allowed to meet eyewitnesses. India, in return, requested Pakistan to allow its investigators to visit the country to question alleged masterminds of the attack including JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother.

Pakistan has so far not officially responded to the Indian request as it is currently studying various options. One of the main concerns behind the government’s reluctance to take a decision stem from the fact that India may use the visit to ridicule Pakistan.



Given this and also reservations of the country’s security establishment, the government is unlikely to accept India’s request. “We will take the final decision after Eid,” said the official, who asked to remain anonymous because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Asked about the prospects of resumption of the bilateral dialogue, the official said India appears to be ‘hiding behind the Pathankot incident.’

However, the official did not rule out some forward movement after Eid saying that despite apparent strains in ties, the national security advisers were in contact with each other.

The Pathankot attack led to the cancellation of crucial foreign secretary-level talks, which were to take place in mid-January. Since then India has been reluctant to return to the negotiating table, although Pakistan has consistently maintained that it is ready for talks at any time.

Last week, India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told a news conference in New Delhi that foreign secretary-level talks were not cancelled. “But we are only awaiting probe from Pakistan side on the Pathankot attack,” she added.



Although prospects of resumption of talks are grim at the moment, officials are hoping that the two sides will eventually return to the negotiating table before the next Saarc summit.

Pakistan is scheduled to host the regional grouping’s meeting in November this year. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be among leaders from other South Asian countries to attend the gathering in Islamabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2016.