As India cleared a seven-day visa for the Pakistani joint investigation team (JIT) arriving here on Sunday to probe the Pathankot attack, New Delhi is hoping the visit will help confirm the identity of the four Pakistani terrorists whose bodies were recovered from the encounter site.
According to sources in the security establishment, there has been considerable progress in the investigation by India and Pakistan into the Pathankot conspiracy. The NIA is hopeful that Islamabad will share its findings, including the identity of the attackers – whose photographs were relayed to Pakistan through a recent letter rogatory – as well as of their Jaish handlers. Only last week, NIA put up a notice with photographs of the four attackers on its website, inviting the public to identify them and earn a reward of up to Rs 1 lakh.
Also on Friday, the NIA summoned Punjab police SP Salwinder Singh, a key witness whose car was waylaid by the terrorists before they entered Pathankot airbase, at its headquarters here for a fresh round of questioning. Sources indicated that Singh, his friend Rajesh Verma, cook Madan Gopal and ‘baba’ of the shrine visited by them on January 31, will be questioned by NIA here in the presence of Pakistan JIT.
Sources said the Pakistan JIT’s itinerary is being finalised. The five-member team is expected to arrive here on Sunday. On Monday, there will be discussions between the JIT and the NIA, during which they will put a set of questions to each other regarding the probes and their findings. The NIA will match its findings with the information shared by the Pakistani agencies. On March 29, the JIT, accompanied by NIA officials led by an IG Sanjeev Kumar Singh, will fly to Pathankot for a visit to the encounter site.