Pathankot attack: A month later, business as usual for Jaish in Pak?

New Delhi: More than a month after the terror attack on the strategic IAF base in Pathankot on January 2, Pakistan has not yet informed India whether it has taken any action against Jaish-e-Mohammed, believed to be responsible for the terror attack, on the basis of vital leads shared by New Delhi with Islamabad.

Reports from Islamabad reveal that it is business is “as usual” for JeM leaders who were allowed to “roam freely”. Official sources here said there is no information on whether any criminal case was registered against the outfit, its chief Maulana Masood Azhar or others responsible for the January 2 terror attack on the strategic airbase. There is also no information about when would the Pakistani SIT come to India to probe the assault. It is not yet known whether the Pakistani SIT has collected evidence of how the conspiracy for the attack was hatched in that country, sources said. While it is learnt that NSA Ajit Doval strongly took up the issue with his Pakistani counterpart soon after the Pathankot terror siege, there is no official word on what has been the followup of those talks and sharing of information by the Indian security brass. In fact, New Delhi had welcomed Pakistan’s keenness to bring to book the Pathankot attackers and also decided to give Islamabad a chance to act. However, a month has passed and New Delhi is still awaiting a response from Islamabad on whether they have found out the actual owners of the mobile numbers which were used by the handlers of the six terrorists who stormed the airbase in Punjab.

Tapped conversations between the terrorists and their Pakistani handlers were also shared with that country, security officials said, adding the government there should take the probe forward by registering a criminal case.

Sources said Pakistan tried to wash off its hand by saying the mobile numbers were unregistered and had been procured on fake identities.

A Pakistan PMO statement, issued a few days after the Pathankot attack, had said, “Considerable progress has been made in the investigations being carried out against terrorist elements reportedly linked to the Pathankot incident.”

“Based on initial investigations in Pakistan, and the information provided, several individuals belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad have been apprehended. The offices of the organisation are also being traced and sealed. Further investigations are underway,” the statement had said.

However, sources said, as per the information gathered by Indian agencies, business is as usual for JeM, a month after the Pathankot terror attack and the outfit’s leaders and other activists were roaming freely in Pakistan.

In the spirit of the cooperative approach, the Pakistani PMO statement had said, it was also decided that in order to carry the process forward, additional information would be required for which the government of Pakistan is considering sending a SIT to Pathankot in consultation with the government of India. “We have not heard from Pakistan since then on its SIT,” sources said.