Pak Joint Investigation Team to visit Pathankot today, airbase access limited

A five-member Pakistan Joint Investigation Team (JIT) will visit Pathankot on Tuesday to carry out the investigation into the terror attack on the Indian Air Force Base.

Interacting with reporters yesterday, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said he had especially denied permission to the foreign investigative team to go anywhere near the airbase.

He, however, said the Pathankot terror attack was being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and thus, it was within the purview of the NIA to give permission to the Pakistan JIT to probe the crime scene.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has given a detailed presentation to the visiting Pakistani probe team on the evidence collected with regard to Pathankot airbase terror attack case.

The JIT reached New Delhi on Sunday to carry forward the probe and met the NIA officers yesterday.

Briefing the media yesterday, Inspector General of NIA, Sanjiv Kumar Singh said, "The JIT will be taken to different locations associated with the attack case today."

He said that the exercise is aimed at providing evidence to Pakistani probe team so that all those guilty of the terror attack could be prosecuted effectively in the neighbouring country.

Well placed NIA sources told ANI that the JIT held talks with the NIA members on the Pathankot attack investigation and NIA also gave presentation on facts and evidences.

As far as Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) involvement in Pathankot attack was concerned, the Pakistani JIT did not deny the evidence furnished by the NIA, sources said.

This is the first time that Pakistani intelligence and police officials are traveling to India to investigate a terror attack case.

New Delhi has been pressing Islamabad for action on the attack by terrorists on the key Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, in January this year.

Seven security personnel were martyred in the attack. All terrorists involved in the attack were also killed in the gun-battle.