- CTD spokesman says JIT will probe the attack and those involved will be brought to trial in accordance with law
- Punjab law minister says FIR registered on basis of initial evidence provided by India
The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Punjab Police on Friday registered a First-Information Report (FIR) against the alleged attackers of the Pathankot airbase in India and their abettors, providing a legal framework under which a Pakistani team can visit India to investigate the charges.
FIR number 06/2016 was registered in the CTD Police Station Gujranwala under sections 302, 324 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code, and sections 7 and 21-I of the Anti-Terrorism Act against “members of a proscribed organization” on the plea of Interior Ministry Deputy Secretary Aitzaz-ud-Din.
A formal investigation was launched following the registration of the FIR, said a CTD spokesman, adding that a joint investigation team will probe the attack and those involved will be brought to trial in accordance with law.
However, the FIR does not mention the names of banned militant outfit Jaish-e-Muhammad and its chief Maulana Masood Azhar, who have been named by Indian authorities as chief perpetrators and mastermind, respectively, of the attack on the important Indian airbase in Pathankot.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the FIR has been registered on the basis of initial evidence provided by India and that further action will be taken once more evidence is uncovered.
He said the FIR should dispel misgivings other countries have regarding Pakistan’s commitment towards eradicating terrorism. “We will not allow non-state actors to use Pakistani soil to plot terror attacks on other countries.”
According to the FIR, Indian National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval informed authorities that the four attackers had come from Pakistan and had “probably crossed the border adjacent to the Pathankot general area”. The NSA is cited as saying that while in India, they made phone calls to cell phones and belonged to a proscribed organisation.
The incident comes just a day after Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar accused Pakistan of not being serious about the Pathankot probe.
STEP IN RIGHT DIRECTION:
India’s ruling party hailed Pakistan’s initiative of registering FIR into Pathankot terrorist attack and termed it a step in the right direction.
The Indian media quoted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesman Nalin S. Kohli as saying that registration of FIR into Pathankot attack is a positive indication to bring the culprits involved in terrorist attack to book.
However, he said that Pakistan should award exemplary punishment to mastermind and facilitators of the attack.
He said, “The registration of an FIR by Pakistan in connection with the Pathankot probe provides a legal framework under which a team from there can visit India.”
However, Economic Times quoted an unnamed Indian official saying that New Delhi was disappointed that neither Jaish-e-Muhammad nor its chief Masood Azhar were named in the FIR.
“It is a small step in the right direction. But it is disappointing that neither the name of Jaish nor Masood Azhar was incorporated in the FIR,” the senior government official was quoted by Economic Times.
“We have failed to understand why Jaish and its chief’s names were not included in the FIR despite India giving adequate evidence about their involvement,” the official said.
Following Indian accusations earlier this year that militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad was responsible for the attacks, Pakistani authorities cracked down on the group, sealing a Jaish-run seminary in Sialkot and taking group leader Masood Azhar into protective custody.
The Pathankot air base attack occurred just days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a ‘surprise’ visit to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on his birthday and the occasion of his granddaughter’s wedding ─ a move that appeared to promise better relations between the neighbouring countries in the coming year.
After Modi’s visit, the Pakistani and Indian foreign secretaries were scheduled to meet to discuss modalities regarding the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue agreed upon during Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Islamabad for the Heart of Asia conference in December.
The dialogue was to take on matters related to peace and security, Jammu and Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek, Wullar Barrage, Tulbul Navigation Project, economic and commercial cooperation, counter-terrorism, narcotics control and humanitarian issues, people to people exchanges and religious tourism.
However, the meeting between the foreign secretaries is yet to take place. Foreign Office Spokesman Nafees Zakaria on Thursday said no dates for the talks have been decided, but both sides are in touch regarding the matter.
