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Pathankot attack: FIR against Masood Azhar, others recommended

By Azaz Syed
February 19, 2016

ISLAMABAD: The special investigation team formed to investigate the Pathankot incident has formally recommended to the federal government to lodge an FIR on the basis of the information provided to the National Security Adviser Lt-Gen (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua by his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval, background interviews and documents available with The News revealed here on Thursday.

The sources claimed that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after consulting the relevant stakeholders may order lodging of a case either in the FIA or in Lahore’s Counter Terrorism Department against Masood Azhar, four attackers and some unknown accomplices in the days to come.

The interior ministry, on its notification issued on January 13, 2016, had constituted a six-member team. The team was headed by a convener named Rai Tahir, a reputed chief of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), Punjab Police. According to a document, the team held its three meetings in which the information provided by the Indian side was evaluated and partially confirmed the Indian version of the incident.

The sources claimed that the team has yet not interrogated the Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar, who was taken into informal “protective custody” without any legal formality.

They claimed that the interrogation would take place only after the registration of an FIR.

The sources claimed that besides the completion of the initial investigation of the special investigation team and recommendation of lodging of an FIR by the CTD, Lahore, a new JIT constituted by the Punjab home department has also been recommended for starting formal investigation after the registration of the FIR. In this regard, a written recommendation, a copy of which was also available with this correspondent, has been forwarded to the federal government by the special investigation team convener Rai Tahir.

The sources claimed that the government is considering if the members of special investigation team headed by Rai Tahir should visit the Indian city Pathankot which was the terror target on January 2 or the new JIT, to be formed after the registration of a case, should visit that Indian city.

It claimed that Nasser Khan Janjua is constantly in contact with his Indian counterpart on the developments regarding the ongoing investigations. However, it is yet not clear if the Indian side has been communicated about the possibility of the registration of an FIR.

During the course of investigations, an investigator from an intelligence agency had also forwarded a January 6th publication of “The Times of India”, alleging, “Pakistan’s involvement in Pathankot incident, claims availability of evidences of telephonic intercepts and information gleaned from alleged JeM operators in India.”

In this context, the agency doubted the statement that, “powerful Indian hackers or intelligence has managed to gain access to the data base of Nadra or mobile companies cannot be ruled out.”

According to the sources, the JIT, after the approval of the Interior Minister Ch Nisar, approached Nadra and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on January 29, 2016 so that a detailed probe of the present cyber security measures and likelihood of any such security breach and illegal access to sensitive data bases by associating technical experts of the agency could be carried out.

When contacted, a key functionary of the federal government said the team constituted by the government was highly professional. He shared that besides its convener, CTD chief of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Salahuddin Khan is also a key figure in investigating cases of terror while being above biases. He lost his two schoolgoing sons in one of the terror attacks when an explosive-laden vehicle hit his car.

Director of FIA Lahore Usman Anwar is yet another officer with a lot of experience in tackling and solving the terror cases in different parts of the Punjab. Usman Anwar was the same officer who investigated the terror attacks on the ISI and Pakistan Air Force in Faisalabad respectively in 2008 and 2010 and solved the puzzle.

Another Grade-20 officer of the Police Service Azeem Arshad, currently serving the Intelligence Bureau, Lahore, is also considered to be well-groomed with an international exposure by serving the International Court of Justice in The Hague for almost five years.

The two officers Brigadier Noman Saeed of ISI and Col Irfan Mirza of Military Intelligence (MI) are also considered as experienced officers who know the tricks of the trade in the field of countering terrorism.