On Pathankot India must focus on the Jaish link for now- Interview
New Delhi, June 3: India continues to be confident that Pakistan would soon act on the evidence given to them on the Pathankot terrorist attack.
Yesterday there was a statement by the NIA chief stating that there was no evidence as yet to suggest that the Pakistan government or establishment was involved.
The statement did evoke some reactions with many expressing surprise. Some would say that if a Lashkar-e-Tayiba or Jaish-e-Mohammad stages an attack in India it is a given that they have the backing of the ISI.
I do not think much should be made about the statement says former chief of the Research and Analysis Wing, C D Sahay. In this interview with OneIndia, Sahay says the case of the NIA is against the Jaish-e-Mohammad and not the ISI or others in the establishment.
Is
it
too
early
to
say
that
there
is
no
involvement
of
the
Pakistan
establishment
in
the
Pathankot
attack?
Let
us
get
the
perspective
right
first.
Is
the
investigation
into
the
Pathankot
attack
about
the
Jaish-e-Mohammad
or
the
ISI?
From
day
one
we
have
maintained
that
it
was
the
Jaish-e-Mohammad
which
carried
out
the
attack.
Can
the
Jaish-e-Mohammad
carry
out
an
attack
without
the
ISI's
blessings?
Once
again
that
is
not
the
point
here.
Our
demand
to
the
Pakistanis
has
been
to
act
against
the
Jaish-e-Mohammad.
We
have
never
said
that
ISI
carried
out
this
attack.
Even
during
the
course
of
the
probe,
we
never
said
that
ISI
staged
this
attack.
Do
you
think
the
NIA
chief
ought
to
have
issued
such
a
statement?
I
actually
do
not
see
much
of
a
problem
in
what
he
has
said.
He
has
just
stuck
to
the
investigation
and
as
I
pointed
out
earlier,
India's
case
is
that
the
Jaish-e-Mohammad
carried
out
the
attack.
What should Pakistan do now?
We are asking Pakistan who carried out the attack. They need to give us more information about it considering the terrorists came from their soil. We have told them that the terrorists were in contact with senior leaders of the Jaish. We have been asking them to take action and they must do that.
You know how exactly the Jaish-e-Mohammad came into existence. Musharaff had promised to arrest the Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar. Instead he allowed him to address a rally and form the Jaish-e-Mohammad.
You are now getting into the background. All those are well known facts. Our priority should be to crack the Pathankot case and hence we need to stay focused on that now.
You
must
be
aware
that
in
the
26/11
case,
the
ISI
angle
did
crop
up.
Yes
I
am
aware
of
that.
But
then
at
time
we
had
not
said
the
ISI
carried
out
the
attack.
We
were
telling
them
it
was
the
Lashkar-e-Tayiba.
Only
during
the
course
of
the
probe
and
based
on
Headley's
deposition
did
we
realise
there
were
individuals
in
the
ISI
who
were
part
of
it.
Now
despite
all
that,
they
have
still
not
acted.
Does
that
not
say
something?
It
does.
But
as
I
said
we
need
to
stay
focused.
What
we
need
to
ponder
over
is
whether
their
Joint
Investigating
Team
has
done
what
they
were
expected
to
do?
We
have
given
them
the
evidence
and
have
they
appreciated
it?
How
much
evidence
can
we
really
give?
Out
here
we
have
limited
evidence
considering
the
terrorists
came
from
Pakistan.
But
whatever
we
have
provided
does
make
for
a
good
lead.
Out
concern
at
the
moment
should
focus
on
whether
Pakistan
will
act
on
the
evidence
given
by
us
and
give
us
more
information.
OneIndia News