Aziz suggests NIA may be allowed to visit Pak, carry out investigation
NEW DELHI: Sartaj Aziz, the foreign affairs adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, indicated it was possible that a team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) could be allowed to visit Pakistan to probe into the Pathankot attack.
In an interview to CNNNews18, the rebranded version of CNN-IBN that was launched on Monday, Aziz said “all options were open” when it came to an NIA team visiting Pakistan to carry out investigations.
Earlier in the month Pakistan envoy to India, Abdul Basit, had hinted that Indian investigators might not be allowed to visit Pakistan and gather evidence. The remark had stirred diplomatic tussle between the two countries as India had allowed investigators from the neighbouring country to carry out probe inside the Pathankot airbase.
Aziz said that Basit’s statement about cooperation not meaning reciprocity was being “over-interpreted”.
The Pakistani official responded to a question on when Pakistan would reciprocate India’s move by stating “In case the evidence leads to some basis and identification of people (who) need to be investigated.”
The government continued to be hopeful that a team of Indian investigators would soon visit the neighbouring country to gather evidence in connection with the Pathankot terror attack. “We are hopeful that a team of NIA will visit Pakistan soon,” minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju said.
During the interview, Aziz also alleged that a network of Indian spies were operating in his country and claimed that the alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Yadav, who was arrested in Pakistan, was part of a larger group. “I don’t think there should be any surprise. Last year, my visit to India was cancelled when I had said that while India is blaming us for non-state actors acting on its soil , in case of India it is the state actors that are operating in Balochistan, FATA and Karachi.”