Amid the diplomatic and national interest in the Pathankot investigation – in particular, the JIT – there has been scant attention paid to the way the issue is being reported on in Pakistan. Here is a look at how Pakistani media has covered the developments:
Attack on Pathankot Staged by India
Pakistan Today (PT) reports that the Pathankot attacks are a deliberate attempt on India’s part to malign Pakistan’s image. PT claims to have received information about the report put together by Pakistan’s Joint Investigation Team (JIT). PT mentions this excerpts from the report:
The report also raises serious questions over the veracity of Indian claims regarding the Pathankot attack. The JIT has concluded that contrary to the claims of the Indian government about the duration of the encounter, the standoff between the Indian army and alleged terrorists ended within hours of the attack.Pakistan Today’s source quotes from the JIT report
However, The Quint has received information from Ministry of External Affairs source that puts into question the accuracy of the claims by PT.
The report in Pakistan Today is a total concoction. While in India, the JIT took onboard the detailed evidence which was shared by NIA. Since the JIT collected evidence in accordance with a Pakistani law which applies to Pakistani citizens committing an offence abroad, the involvement of Pakistanis in the Pathankot attack is self-evident.MEA Source
Khaleej Times Further Emphasises JIT’s Allegations
Khaleej Times (KT) reports on JIT’s allegations brought to light by PT, and draws attention to accusations against India that blame it for being aware of the attacks on Pathankot before they happened, yet refusing to take adequate action. KT, however, also mentions that JIT had accepted that the attackers belonged to Pakistan.
This revelation comes just days after the fact that the same JIT agreed that the four terrorists who attacked the Air Force base in January were from Pakistan...The Pakistani team also questioned India’s witnesses from the incident, despite huge protests from the Opposition party in India who questioned how an ISI officer was allowed to visit India and permitted inside the airbase.Reports Khaleej Times
NIA Officer, Part of Pathankot Interrogation, Brutally Shot Dead
A National Investigation Agency (NIA) officer, Mohammad Tanzil, was shot dead in front of his family in what the Delhi Police called a “planned attack”, reports Pakistan’s Dunya News. Dunya News has made no mention of Pakistan Today’s report against India. It, however, does report on the incident involving Officer Tanzil.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohammad Tanzil was returning from a function with his wife and a child when attackers opened fire at his car. The officer succumbed to injuries on way to the hospital while wife is undergoing medical treatment at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).Reports Dunya News
India Requests a Visit by its Own Investigation Team to Pakistan
Following Pakistan’s JIT’s visit to India to look into the attacks on the Pathankot air base in January, India requested an investigation by sending its own team to Pakistan, according to Geo TV.
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) has requested for a team of its officials to visit Pakistan to carry out its own probe of the Pathankot airbase attack...“The Pakistan JIT welcomed the idea that a team of NIA would like to visit Pakistan and carry forward the probe (into the attack),” Indian media quoted NIA chief Sharad Kumar as saying.Reports Geo TV
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