NIA team to visit Pakistan for Pathankot investigation

New Delhi: A team of Indian investigators will travel to Pakistan to further probe the January terror attack at an air base in Punjab that claimed the lives of seven soldiers, National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Friday. The announcement comes after India, in a rare show of cooperation between the two neighbours, allowed a team of Pakistani security and intelligence officials to examine the scene of the militant attack in Pathankot.

“We told them (the Pakistani investigators) that we want to send a team to Pakistan. They welcomed the idea,” NIA Director General Sharad Kumar said. NIA is handling the Indian investigation of the January 2 attack that also left a civilian dead before six suspected Pakistan terrorists, who had infiltrated the Indian Air Force base from across the border, were killed in a gun fight that lasted for some 80 hours.

The agency now wants to carry forward its investigation in the Pathankot attack and question suspected masterminds, including leaders of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group based in Pakistan. During their India stay since March 27, the Pakistani investigators, including military, police and intelligence officials, visited the scene of terror in Pathankot and also held closed door interactions with NIA officials.