Unwanted politics over Pathankot probe

New Delhi, March 29: An unwanted political war over the visit by the Joint Investigation Team from Pakistan to India has broken out.

While it has been clarified that the JIT would not get access to the Pathankot air force station, the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal accused, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of surrendering to Pakistan.

While there is no doubt that India needs to be on guard while allowing a Pakistan team including an ISI official into the country, the fact of the matter is that this probe would not have been possible at all without a visit by the JIT.

The occurrence of the crime is in India, but has been launched from Pakistan and hence it is extremely necessary that there is joint cooperation on this front.

Politics over an investigation:

The biggest bane when it comes to investigations into terror attacks is the politics that is attached to it. Politicians need not decide how a probe ought to be carried out. The National Security Advisor, the chiefs of the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing are experienced people and are capable of taking a decision on this front.

In fact it was Pakistan which wrote a letter to Delhi stating that for the sake of building evidence, a team would have to visit. India after thorough scrutiny and careful analysis decided to allow the team to come to India and gather evidence. Moreover the JIT will be accompanied by a host of Indian officials including the NIA team at all times.

The presence of an ISI officer has also been questioned. While it is true that the ISI has not done any particular good for India, the fact of the matter is that they always spy undercover. They send their spies in various forms such as cricket fans, traders etc.

Need for cooperation:

The Pathankot probe would have been impossible for the NIA to carry out by itself. What the NIA has with it are the phone call records, DNA samples from the dead terrorists and a couple of other material which links the attack to Pakistan.However, all the actors of this attack are in Pakistan.

The Jaish-e-Mohammad and its chief Maulana Masood Azhar are in Pakistan and only the investigators over there can access him and his accomplices. Following this visit, India is likely to send a team of the NIA to Pakistan.

Officials say that there is a need for cooperation in such attacks which are launched from a different country. There is no harm in testing the waters and such issues should become a part of politics.

OneIndia News