ISI to probe Pakistani link to Pathankot attack

Islamabad, Jan 11: Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence are helping to probe the suspected Pakistani link to the terror attack on the IAF base in Pathankot, a report said on Monday.

The ISI, the Military Intelligence and the Intelligence Bureau are part of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed following a directive of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the Express Tribune reported.

The decision to form the JIT was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Sharif "a few days ago", it said.

Pakistani news reports on Friday had said that Sharif had directed the Intelligence Bureau to probe the leads provided by New Delhi on the alleged Pakistani links to the January 2 terror attack in Punjab.

The pre-dawn attack on the Indian Air Force (IAF) station killed seven security personnel. Security forces killed all six attackers who were said to have sneaked into Punjab from Pakistan.

"Nawaz (Sharif) is taking an active role in getting to the bottom of the Pathankot incident," a source in the Prime Minister's House was quoted as saying.

"He (Sharif) also discussed the issue with army chief Gen Raheel Sharif and took him on board about the decision to form a JIT," it added.

India has provided Islamabad "actionable information" on the terrorists' alleged Pakistani links. New Delhi wants Sharif to crack down on those who masterminded the audacious terrorist attack.

"Nawaz (Sharif) has assured his Indian counterpart (Narendra Modi) that Pakistan will investigate the matter and make the results public," the report said.

IANS