Pathankot attack: NIA names FBI, US Justice Department as witnesses in its chargesheet
They are likely to provide information on the JeM's role in the case.
The National Investigation Agency has named the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and the country’s Justice Department as witnesses in its chargesheet on the Pathankot airbase attack, PTI reported on Tuesday. The NIA has also named six protected people and a jailed militant as witnesses in connection to the January 2 attack, in which seven security personnel were killed and 37 others were injured.
Among the list of witnesses are two people who identified the voices and bodies of the militants who were involved the attack. An FBI special agent and an official of the US Justice Department have been named for providing information on the Jaish-e-Mohammad’s role in the case. On Monday, the NIA had named JeM leaders including Masood Azhar and two others – Qashif Jan and Shaid Latif – among the accused in the chargesheet.
India has also named Azhar in the September 18 Uri attacks, where 19 soldiers died. He is also wanted by New Delhi for his involvement in several other incidents, including the Parliament attack case and the bomb blast at the Srinagar Assembly in 2001. India had released Azhar after an Indian Airlines flight was hijacked in Kandahar in 2001.
India’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Syed Akbaruddin, had accused the international organisation of being stuck in a “time warp and politics” with regard to India’s proposal to ban Azhar. The Security Council had blacklisted the JeM leader and labelled him a terrorist, but opposition from countries such as China had stalled the ban.