Pathankot airbase attack case lodged in Gujranwala

More proof about Maulana Masood and facilitators to be sought from India; CTD spokesperson says formal investigation launched; Punjab IGP says new JIT to be formed; Rana Sana says non-state actors won’t be allowed to use Pak soil

LAHORE: The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Friday registered an FIR against unidentified suspects for their involvement in the January 2 terrorist attack on the Pathankot Airbase in India.

With no one nominated in the case, different charges – murder, attempt to murder, abetment (sections 302, 324, 109 of PPC) and terrorism (section 7 and 21-i of Anti-terrorism Act) – are included in the FIR.

Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mushtaq Sukhera said that a separate Joint Investigation Team (JIT) would be constituted to probe the case registered with the CTD Police Station, Gujranwala. He added that the name of Jaish-e-Muhammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar was not recommended by the existing JIT. He said that more proof about the involvement of Maulana Masood and abettors of the attack would be sought from India.

The case was registered on the complaint of Interior Deputy Secretary Aitzaz-ul-Din. The complainant wrote to the Punjab Home Secretary that the Indian National Security Adviser (NSA) informed that four persons entered the premises of Pathankot Airbase on Jan 2 and resorted to heavy firing, resulting in the death of seven personnel, while the attackers were also killed in the ensuing gunbattle.

It was further reported by the Indian NSA that the attackers had come from Pakistan after planning the attack and probably crossed the border somewhere adjacent to the Pathankot area. While being inside India, they had been making calls to Pakistan on following: numbers 0301-7775253, 0321-31321786, 0345-3030479, 0302-4880619 and 0300-0957212 and that the attackers belonged to a proscribed organisation.

It was, therefore, requested, the deputy secretary said, that an FIR should be registered regarding the above-mentioned incident and investigation be conducted to identify the culprits involved in the offence and bring them to trial in accordance with the law.

A CTD spokesperson said that the case against the alleged attackers and their alleged abettors belonging to a banned outfit had been registered and formal investigation had also been launched. A JIT would investigate the case, he said, while promising to bring the culprits to trial in accordance with the law.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told the media that the FIR was registered on the basis of initial evidence provided by India and they would take further action once more proof was found. “Registration of the FIR is a proof of Pakistan’s resolve against terrorism,” he said and maintained that they would not allow non-state actors to use the Pakistani soil for terrorist attacks in other countries.

On Jan 2, six terrorists, who allegedly crossed the border from Pakistan in two groups (three each), attacked the Pathankot Airbase. They were killed in an operation by Indian security agencies that lasted for four days. At least seven Indian soldiers were also killed and 20 were injured during the operation. The attackers had also caused damage to installations at the airbase.

The Indian authorities had alleged that the Pathankot attack was planned and controlled from the Pakistani soil, adding that Masood Azhar, his brother Rauf and two others were involved in the terror strike.

On sharing of information, Pakistani law enforcement agencies had conducted raids in Gujranwala, Jhelum and Bahawalpur on Jan 10 and arrested several suspects belonging to a proscribed organisation.

On January 11, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif formed a six-member investigation team headed by the CTD Punjab additional IG to probe the Indian government’s allegations.

On January 14, the CTD officials raided a Jaish-e-Muhammad-affiliated seminary, Jamiatul Nur, in Daska and arrested more than a dozen people, while sealing the seminary and seizing documents and literature. On the same day, the Punjab government also took Masood Azhar into protective custody.

 Agencies add: Rana Sanaullah said,”If you want to make your image before the world better and to dispel the propaganda of other countries that our commitment is questionable, we have to do things like this.”

Talking to the media outside the Punjab Assembly, he urged other countries to show an attitude similar to Pakistan regarding the Bacha Khan University attack. He said the nation, the government and the army were determined to eliminate terrorism from the country.