Pak not allowing Pathankot probe team will be betrayal: Rajnath Singh

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said his trust in Pakistan on the issue of fighting terrorism has been "completely shaken" as the kind of support which India expected from it was not coming. 

As the Modi government completed two years in office, Singh also made it clear that not allowing an NIA team to probe the Pathankot terror strike will amount to "betrayal".

In interviews to news channels, the Home Minister touched upon various issues including the 2017 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and threats from the dreaded terror outfit ISIS. "My trust has been completely shaken. The kind of support which we should be getting from them(Pakistan) on the issue of terrorism, that is not happening. I do not have any hesitation in saying this," he said.

On Pathankot, he said it was mutually agreed "informally" by the two countries that once Pakistan's Joint Intelligence Team would visit India, an NIA team would be allowed. "We are awaiting that NIA team is allowed to visit Pakistan," he said. "It is unfortunate (no action on Pathankot terror case). Those connected with Pathankot terror case must be punished," he said.

"I will not have any hesitation in saying that if our NIA team does not get permission to visit Pakistan then it will be betrayal. They should be allowed," he said. "This has been discussed at Secretary level also and this is the proposal from this side also that your team has come, our NIA should also go. We are waiting for response from Pakistan. let us see what is the response from Pakistan," he added.

To a question on the alleged U-turn in the Ishrat Jahan probe done during the previous UPA regime and the NDA rule, Singh said it was for the court to decide on the future of investigations. "Prima facie it appears there have been attempts to politicise Ishrat Jahan case. Some documents which had to be in file are not there. I had told Parliament that I am getting a probe done in the case. A Committee has been formed and after I have got the report I will be able to to tell what had been done, where," the Home Minister said.

Singh said it was unfortunate that some people try to do politics on the issue of terrorism and insurgency. "Politics should not be there for forming government. It should be there for nation making. There should not be politics on issues concerning country's security. "There is a full fledged autonomy to investigating agencies. If some body tries to influence a probe agency then it will be immoral. We cannot doubt NIA or its probe," he said. Singh said there is no attempt from this government to weaken the NIA or any of the probe agencies.

"They have full fledged autonomy," the Home Minister said.

The Home Minister when asked whether the government was seeking to downplay threats from banned ISIS terror group, he said, "I am not downplaying it. Some areas that have been radicalised are under investigation. But I have a perception about ISIS. ISIS will not be able to have an impact in India because we completely trust our Muslim brothers in the country. They are a part of the Indian culture. They will not welcome the activities of ISIS in India," he said.

On the videos of ISIS that surfaced recently, he said government was trying to get this verified, whether it's authentic or a fake.

"But I believe that ISIS activities in any case will not be successful in India and I am saying this because at my personal level based on my experience to date, (I can say) the Muslims of our country are nationalistic and they will not allow the ISIS activities to flourish. Therefore, I am fully reassured that the Indian Muslim, our Muslim brethren, will not let ISIS activities to acquire roots here, they are nationalists," he said.