Islamabad: Contrary to reports of Pakistan’s Joint Investigation Team (JIT) having admitted that the four terrorists who attacked the Pathankot Indian Air Force base were from Pakistan, the probe team, which is now back home, has said that India failed to provide evidence to prove that Pakistan-based terrorists had stormed the IAF base, a Pakistani media report said today.
According to a report in Pakistan-based media outlet Geo News citing sources close to the JIT, Pakistani investigators were allowed to enter the military airbase from the narrow adjacent routes instead of the main entrance and their duration of the visit was just 55 minutes, enough to take a mere walk through the military facility.
The JIT could not collect evidence in this limited time, the report said citing sources.
The JIT members visited the Pathankot airbase on March 29 where National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials briefed them and showed them the route from where the attackers stormed the airbase.
The sources were quoted as saying that the lights along the 24-km perimeter wall of the Pathankot airbase were found to be faulty on the eve of the attack.
However, the report claimed that the Pakistani team was only informed about the negligence of Border Security Force (BSF) and Indian forces.
A senior official was quoted by The Indian Express on Thursday as saying that both the countries have shared the identities of the attackers and will decide on the next course of action. The report also mentioned that the JIT conceded that the attacks did emanate from Pakistan.
The report further stated that apart from giving their list of demands, the NIA has put down a list of questions and asked for audio samples of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf and Nasir’s mother Khayyam Baber and have sought access to Azhar and Rauf.
Apart from the details of the four terrorists, the NIA will also share details about the people who had cooperated with them and facilitated their entry into India through Bamiyal village on Indo-Pak border. According to the PTI, DNA samples were taken from the energy drink that the attackers are believed to have consumed before carrying out the suicide attack.
The JIT returned yesterday after their five-day visit to India during which all evidence pertaining to the attack was shared with them, including the DNA of four terrorists, their identity as well as call records showing involvement of Jaish-e-Mohammed(JeM) terrorists behind the attack on the Pathankot air base during the intervening night of January 1 and 2.
The gun battle which lasted for more than 80 hours left seven security personnel dead. Bodies of four terrorists have been recovered so far.
