After some of the statements made by Pakistan's senior government officials, the move intends to prompt Pakistani authorities in speeding up its investigation into the Pathankot attack.
On Tuesday, the National Investigation Agency, probing the January 2016 Pathankot attack, revealed that it has readied fresh Letters Rogatory (LRs) that are to be sent to Pakistan containing the addresses of the four Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants responsible for the attack.
The move intends to prompt Pakistani authorities in speeding up its investigation into the Pathankot attack after some of the statements made by Pakistan's senior government officials had irked the authorities here. The addresses are supposed to make NIA's intention clear about the areas it wants its investigators to visit.
What remains to be seen is whether the fresh set of LRs will prompt the Pakistani authorities in taking action after dragging their feet for almost four months.
Nevertheless, the agency, on Tuesday, seemed to be on the front foot and told dna that its investigators found no evidence on the possibility of an insider aiding the JeM militants responsible for the incident.
The official also said that this fact had been put across to the Pakistani government constituted Joint Investigation team and that the fresh LRs will make the agency's intention clear on visiting Pakistan soon. An NIA official, speaking to dna, added that it was imperative for its investigators to visit Pakistan for furthering the probe into Pathankot attack as "a major portion of evidence was in Pakistan".
"The conspiracy to attack the airbase was hatched in Pakistan. The conspirators, their networks, traces of logistical support and so on, all of it is beyond Indian territory. Travelling to Pakistan to further the probe is perhaps of more importance than the probe we have carried out here so far," the NIA official said adding that the issuance of fresh LRs is part of the route which the agency will take while carrying out the probe.
India had already sent an LR to Pakistan in which it had asked for voice samples of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Abdul Rauf who are believed to be behind the attack in which seven security personal were killed during an 80-hour gun battle.
On Tuesday, agency officials said that the fresh LRs will contain addresses of the four militants that were killed during the attack. The agency had already put up their pictures on its official website last month and had received intelligence on the identities of the four militants.
Nasir Hussain, the militant who had called his mother before launching the attack on IAF base, identified as Khayyam Babbar, was found to be a resident of Vehari township in Punjab province of Pakistan. In its previous LR, the agency had asked for audio samples of Hussain's mother. While Hafiz Abu Bakar hailed from Gujranwala, Umer Farooq and Abdul Qayum belonged to Singh province of Pakistan.
There is of course another important decision yet to be taken by the authorities here in India. The bodies of the four militants are currently kept in a hospital's mortuary in India and it has not been decided when the militants will be buried. The NIA on Tuesday said that the JIT had to communicate with its investigators and state their position on possibility of a forensics examination. "The Pakistani authorities are yet to update us on whether they would be requiring the bodies for a forensics examination to establish a DNA match. Once they communicate this, our authorities have to take a call on when the four men need to be buried," said an NIA official.
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