Pakistan’s Joint Investigation Team (JIT) undertook its trip to India with a “cooperative” approach, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. In a press statement that seemed at variance with Pakistani media reports which claimed that the JIT had drawn a blank in India, the MFA said investigations were still ongoing.
“The visit of the JIT to India took place in the context of the cooperative approach being pursued by the Pakistan government as part of its commitment to effectively fight terrorism in all its forms,” the MFA said days after the five-member team travelled to Delhi and Pathankot last week.
However, the statement made a pointed reference to the fact that the JIT was denied access to security officers who were eyewitnesses to the Pathankot airbase attack.
“The JIT visited the crime scene and also recorded the statements of some witnesses. However, the witnesses belonging to the Indian security forces were not produced before it,” the statement said.
The Ministry made no reference to when the JIT would submit its report and whether charges would be framed in court on the basis of evidence collected. The investigation into the Pathankot attack is now being seen as a key indicator of whether a more restrained and cooperative approach to handling terror by both India and Pakistan will yield results not seen before.
