New Delhi: India plans to provide the probe team from Pakistan access to all witnesses in the Pathankot terror attack case but not security personnel from National Security Guard or the BSF.
On the eve of the arrival of Pakistan’s Joint Investigation Team visit, official sources said India will also press for visit of its probe team to that country for carrying out investigations there.
The sources said the five-member delegation led by Chief of Punjab’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), Additional Inspector General of Police Muhammad Tahir Rai will not be provided complete access to the Pathankot air force base but to limited areas where Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists were engaged in an 80-hour gunbattle with security forces.
The Pakistani team which also comprises Lahore’s Deputy Director General Intelligence Bureau Mohammad Azim Arshad, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed, Military Intelligence Lt Col Irfan Mirza and Gujaranwala CTD Investigating Officer Shahid Tanveer will be brought to the airbase in a special plane on March 29.
The airbase will be visually barricaded by NIA to prevent any view of its critical areas.
The team will be briefed thoroughly on March 28 at the NIA headquarters here which will include a 90-minute presentation on the investigations carried in the case so far, the sources said.
This will be the first time that Pakistani intelligence and police officials are travelling to India to investigate a terror attack.
Witnesses, excepting personnel of NSG, BSF and Garud commandos of IAF, have been lined up for the Pakistan probe team.
The witnesses include Punjab Police Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh, his jeweller friend Rajesh Verma and cook Madan Gopal and 17 injured people.
PTI