- NIA chief says no evidence found of Pakistan’s involvement in Pathankot airbase attack
- Says sufficient evidence found against Jaish-e-Muhammad and its chief Maulana Masood Azhar
Director General of India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) Sharad Kumar on Thursday said there is no evidence of Pakistan government’s involvement in the attack on Indian Air Force base in Pathankot.
Talking to CNN News18, Kumar said that there is no evidence to show that Pakistani government was involved or helping any individual involved in the Pathankot attack.
“Investigation so far does not point to any inside hand,” said the NIA chief when questioned by the host of any Pakistani government’s involvement.
Kumar, however, accused Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) and its chief Masood Azhar for carrying out the attack, a claim often repeated after the attack,
“We have sufficient and stringent evidence against Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Rauf Azhar and we will include those in our charge sheet,” the DG NIA told CNN News18.
Kumar said that Indian investigation team is now looking forward to visit Pakistan and is waiting for approval from the Pakistan government, adding that the agency will file a chargesheet in this case whether Pakistan allows the Indian team a visit or not.
He added that evidence against Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Rauf Azhar is sufficient to file a charge sheet.
‘Pakistan vindicated’:
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said the DG NIA’s statement had vindicated Pakistan’s longstanding position in the context of Pathankot.
The statement by the FO added, “The spirit of cooperation is manifested in the action we (Pakistan) took in the wake of the alleged incident.”
The statement further added the JIT is examining the intelligence shared by India during the visit.
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.