Pakistan JIT quizzes Salwinder, others in Pathankot attack

Suspended Gurdaspur SP Salwinder Singh was among over a dozen witnesses questioned on Thursday at the NIA headquarters here by a visiting Pakistan team regarding the Pathankot terror attack.

The Punjab Police officer, his cook Mandan Gopal, jeweller friend Rajesh Verma and other witnesses reached the National Investigation Agency (NIA) office where the Joint Investigation Team from Pakistan questioned them in the presence of NIA officials, informed sources told IANS.

"Over a dozen people - including Salwinder - were questioned by the JIT today (Thursday)," the sources said, adding that the NIA had already questioned all of them several times.

All the witnesses were reportedly under the agency's supervision for the past five days, the sources said.

Punjab's superintendent of police has claimed that he, Verma and cook Gopal were abducted by four or five heavily armed terrorists near Punjab's Kolia village on January 2.

The terrorists later attacked the Pathankot Indian Air Force base in which seven security personnel and the Pakistani terrorists were killed.

The Pakistani team is in India to probe the Pathankot attack which, New Delhi says, was masterminded by Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar.

On Monday and Tuesday, the NIA submitted the evidence to the five-member Pakistani team on the terror attack.

According to NIA sources, the evidence shows that the Pathankot operation was planned by elements in Pakistan.

The visiting team includes Inter Services Intelligence official Lt. Colonel Tanvir Ahmed and military intelligence officer Lt. Colonel Irfan Mirza.