Monday, June 8, 2026
ADVT 
India

Pakistani Probe Team 'Already' In India

Darpan News Desk IANS, 26 Feb, 2016 11:52 AM
    The Pakistani probe team has already arrived in India to probe the Pathankot airbase attack in Punjab, an official said.
     
    Punjab counter-terrorism department chief Muhammad Tahir Rai, who heads the high-powered Joint Investigation Team (JIT), has reached India along with some other officials, The Nation quoted a senior official as saying on Thursday.
     
    A JIT formed on the orders of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif formally started working last week, and its first meeting was convened in Lahore to discuss the case in detail, the report said.
     
    The Punjab province home department on Thursday also re-notified the JIT, ordering the investigators to submit the interim probe report to the court within two weeks.
     
    It was not clear if there was any change or the new notification retained the same members as that of the earlier JIT, which was constituted by the interior ministry in mid-January.
     
    A provincial government official confirmed that Tahir Rai, who is additional inspector general of police, has arrived in India and this move is being kept secret on both sides of the border.
     
    "What I can confirm is that Rai is in India right now. We can't tell how many officials accompany him," the official said on the request of anonymity.
     
    The official did not comment on the day the team left for India to probe the attack and for how many days it would be there.
     
    Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), a Pakistani militant outfit, was responsible for the attack on the airbase in Pathankot town on January 2.
     
    As many as seven security personnel were killed in the attack. The security forces also killed all six terrorists in over three days' operation.
     
    New Delhi said the fate of 'comprehensive dialogue process' -- started by both the countries recently to improve India-Pakistan ties -- depended on Islamabad's action against the perpetrators of the attack.
     
    Pakistan registered a case on the basis of leads provided by India and formed an investigation team comprising high-ranking officials of police and intelligence agencies.
     
    The counter-terrorism department (CTD) of Pakistan's Punjab province on Thursday lodged a case against six "non-state actors" for plotting the attack.
     
    Official sources in the Punjab home department said the JIT members during their visit to India would collect facts about the Pathankot attack.
     
    However, no information was provided weather the investigators was allowed to visit the Indian airbase as earlier New Delhi denied the team access to the airbase.
     
    One official said the team would also discuss modalities for carrying out joint investigations with their Indian counterparts.
     
    "Although no timeframe has been given to complete the probe, it is expected that the team will complete the investigations within 15 days," another official said.
     
    "If the probe remains incomplete after two weeks, the JIT may seek more time from the court since it is a matter of criminal procedure code."
     
    Earlier, four suspects were detained in connection with the phone numbers mentioned in the first information report.
     
    The investigators were examining the SIM registration and call data of the numbers. The mobile phone companies were asked to provide details of the persons using those phone numbers.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Clinton spends two hours in Lucknow village, also meets Akhilesh

    Clinton spends two hours in Lucknow village, also meets Akhilesh
    Former US president Bill Clinton arrived here Thursday afternoon to participate in a social activity in Jabrauli, a village on the outskirts of the state capital.

    Clinton spends two hours in Lucknow village, also meets Akhilesh

    Pakistani troops fire again at Indian post in Jammu

    Pakistani troops fire again at Indian post in Jammu
    Panic gripped Indian villages along the international border in Jammu and Kashmir Thursday evening as heavy firing exchanges took place again between the Pakistan Rangers and the Border Security Force (BSF), officials said here.

    Pakistani troops fire again at Indian post in Jammu

    Delhi BJP legislator sends legal notice to Kejriwal

    Delhi BJP legislator sends legal notice to Kejriwal
    A Delhi BJP legislator Thursday asked AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal to pay Rs.1 crore in damages for tarnishing the party's image by making "baseless" allegations of horse-trading against it.

    Delhi BJP legislator sends legal notice to Kejriwal

    Modi speaks to Merkel, invites her to visit India

    Modi speaks to Merkel, invites her to visit India
    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on the phone Thursday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during his transit halt at Frankfurt on his way back home from the BRICS summit in Brazil and both leaders invited each other for official visits.

    Modi speaks to Merkel, invites her to visit India

    Sushma exhorts NRIs to assist in India's progress

    Sushma exhorts NRIs to assist in India's progress
    External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Thursday called upon NRIs to work for the reconstruction of the country, and said Indians living abroad endorse the NDA government as their "own".

    Sushma exhorts NRIs to assist in India's progress

    Indian Government not considering artificial rainmaking programme

    Indian Government not considering artificial rainmaking programme
    The government is not considering any artificial rainfall/cloud seeding programmes with the help of state governments and commercial firms due to scarcity in rainfall, parliament was told Thursday.

    Indian Government not considering artificial rainmaking programme