Pakistan moves secret JeM facility used to train Pathankot attackers

The Indian Express reported that the training facility has been moved from Fort Maujgarh to Jaish-e-Muhammad's main seminary at Bahawalpur

Pakistan's Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has ordered the relocation of a secret facility used to train the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) team responsible for the terror attack at the Pathankot airbase in India, reported The Indian Express.

According to Indian intelligence sources, the base, which is located near Pakistan's Fort Maujgarh, close to the India-Pakistan border across from Rajasthan, is believed to have been used to train selected Jaish-e-Muhammad units for special missions. These training units have now been moved, albeit without their weapons, 62 km away, to the Jaish-e-Muhammad’s main seminary at Bahawalpur, said the newspaper.

The report also said that Fort Maujgarh has been used in particular for tactical training in cross-border infiltration. “Flash floods create a network of gullies and ravines which are not dissimilar to the terrain along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab and Jammu. In the winter months, there’s also decent scrub vegetation in the desert, and fields that are quite similar in their character,” an Indian military official was quoted as saying. 

The official added that Pakistani counter-intelligence also believed the region to be less vulnerable to Indian espionage than Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Despite Pakistan's acceptance that at least one number publicly tied to Jaish-e-Muhammad's leadership was used for the purpose of instructing the attackers at Pathankot, the group's seminary at Bahawalpur seems to continue to operate normally.

During the intervening night of January 1 and 2, the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Punjab was attacked, leading to a gunbattle that lasted for more than 80 hours. The attack left seven security personnel and the intruding terrorists dead. 

Investigations by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) revealed the involvement of banned terror organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad in the attack. Evidence collected, including DNA of the slain terrorists, their identity and call records, tied the terrorists to the organisation based out of Pakistan. 

Pakistan sent a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to Pathankot to join in the investigation process. 

The five-member team, which also included an ISI officer, was given a detailed presentation on the probe done by Indian agencies and evidences that showed that the attack was planned in Pakistan, official sources had said. The JIT also visited the site of the attack at the airbase, to carry out their own observations.

After their five-day visit however, the Pakistan JIT denied India's claims with regards to the attack, questioning the accuracy of the investigation. The JIT further said that Indian authorities were aware of the possibility of an attack and had prior information about the attackers. 

The Pakistani JIT in their report also went on to claim that the attack was staged by India.