Pakistan to seek more proof from India on Pathankot attack

Pakistan plans to seek more evidence from India, a media report said on Monday. This comes days after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the outcome of the investigation into the assault would be made public soon.

A Pakistani Government team, which is investigating the attack, will ask the Foreign Ministry to seek more evidence from India.

“The team has almost completed its investigation into five cellphone numbers [allegedly used for making calls from Pakistan to India] provided by the Indian government. No further leads were found from these numbers because they were unregistered and had fake identities,” Dawn quoted a source as saying.

“The probe is not heading further. The team needs more evidence. Therefore, it has written to the Government to speak to India and apprise it of the situation and demand more evidence to move forward in investigation here.”

Answering a question about the people, including Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar, detained in connection with the incident, the source said “Let first more evidence come from India.”

Mr. Sharif had formed the six-member investigation team headed by the Additional Inspector General of Punjab’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in the second week of January to look into the allegations that the JeM was behind the attack.

“Whatever facts come out we will bring them forth before everyone,” Mr. Sharif said, adding that Pakistan would go to “any length” to uncover the alleged use of its soil in the Pathankot attack.

“It is our responsibility to uncover if our soil was used in the attack. We will do this and the ongoing investigation will be completed soon,” he said.

The team headed by AIG Counter Terror Department, Punjab Rai Tahir has so far held two meetings.

Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies have not produced before court any of the suspects arrested in connection with the attack over the past two weeks since their detention.

The Government has not disclosed the number of suspects detained. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah only confirmed that Maulana Masood Azhar had been taken into “protective custody”, along with some of his “accomplices“. “He [Masood] is not arrested,” the Minister clarified.