Tuesday, June 9, 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

    Lok Sabha election ends, India awaits verdict

    Lok Sabha election ends, India awaits verdict
    India's most bitterly fought national election ended Monday evening, with some 60 percent of the 66 million electorate in three states voting in the 10th and last leg of a contest widely tipped to end a decade of Congress rule.

    Lok Sabha election ends, India awaits verdict

    BJP-led NDA to win big, oust Congress

    BJP-led NDA to win big, oust Congress
    The BJP-led NDA coalition is poised to return to power by winning a majority in the Lok Sabha, ending a decade of Congress-led UPA rule, exit polls said Monday after the general election ended.

    BJP-led NDA to win big, oust Congress

    Lok Sabha battle, overshadowed by Modi, ends Monday

    Lok Sabha battle, overshadowed by Modi, ends Monday
     India's most bitterly fought parliamentary elections end Monday when the last lot of 41 Lok Sabha constituencies vote in three major states, bringing the curtains down on a five-week-plus process widely expected to end a decade of Congress rule.

    Lok Sabha battle, overshadowed by Modi, ends Monday

    500 days on, crusaders keep Dec 16 fight alive

    500 days on, crusaders keep Dec 16 fight alive
    "Shapath lo, balaatkaar mukt Bharat ki" (Pledge for a rape-free India), reads a banner at Jantar Mantar in the heart of the national capital. Inscribed below is "Damini", referring to the Dec 16, 2012, gang-rape victim. Next to it stands a lit lamp, leaving you feeling calm despite the sweltering heat.

    500 days on, crusaders keep Dec 16 fight alive

    Election Special: After elections, AAP will groom new leaders

    Election Special: After elections, AAP will groom new leaders
    Realising that it cannot keep solely depending on Arvind Kejriwal after a gruelling Lok Sabha poll, the fledgling AAP has begun preparing its new rank of leadership.

    Election Special: After elections, AAP will groom new leaders

    In tiring election season, Modi made a style statement

    In tiring election season, Modi made a style statement
    For a man who confesses to a penchant to "dress well" and claims his mixing and matching of colours is "god gifted", BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is one of the few Indian politicians who have effortlessly managed to get discerning people's appreciation and women's attention by his sartorial elegance.

    In tiring election season, Modi made a style statement