Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday said that the Pakistan probe team which has arrived in India to probe the Pathankot attack will not be allowed to enter the Pathankot Airbase, while also rejecting the probe team’s request to land at the sensitive airbase in Punjab.
Parrikar also told a Press conference held on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Defence Expo 2016 in Naqueri plateau in South Goa, 45 kms from Panaji, that the Defence Ministry had asked the Ministry for External Affairs to all required assistance to Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian armed forces officer, who was arrested in Pakistan and is being branded a spy.
Asked to comment about the reaction of the Defence Ministry to the request made by Pakistani investigation team probing the Pathankot terror attack in January this year, Parrikar said: “There is no permission granted for joint the inspection team to visit the airbase. We have specifically refused permission for them to go anywhere in the airbase... Permission to land at airbase has been refused, permission to use Defence vehicles has been refused, permission to speak to any Defence personnel has been refused”.
Parrikar also said that the exact scene of crime, where the terror attack occurred, had been isolated from the airforce base and handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which was probing the terror attack in which six terrorists were killed and seven security personnel and one civilian lost their lives.
“The area where the crime scene has taken place has been handed over long back to National Investiogation Agency which is conducting the crime investigation. Who has to be taken there. Who will investigate it, will depend on the NIA. Therefore whether this joint investigative team which has arrived in India, whether NIA is going to take them to the crime scene. You will have to ask the question to the NIA,” Parrikar said.
“As far as Indian Defence Minstry is concerned, we have issued directions... very clearly that crime scene should be barricaded, visually obstructed and external entry should be given to NIA, whom to bring, when to bring is their responsibility until they complete the crime investigation. If I do not permit them this crime investigation freedom then the crime investigation failure tomorrow will be blamed on us,” the Defence Minister said.
Parrikar also said that the area in which the terrorists were holed up and was a major scene of crime was a non functional area of the airforce base and was extremely insignificant.
Asked to comment on the fate of Kulbhushan jadhav, Parrikar initially said that he has no control over the movements of retired armed force personnel.
“You have said that one person is an ex-naval officer. Other than paying him OROP pension I cannot talk about ex officers because I have no control over them,” Parrikar said.
“But we do agree to the extent that he is an Indian citizen and therefore we have agreed as he an Indian citizen we have asked for consular access. More information with MEA. From our side I have indicated to MEA that he is our ex officer so he should be given all the assistance all the support required. the rest I am not aware, you will have to put the question to MEA,” Parrikar also said.