After rivals, allies flay Modi; Shiv Sena says Pakistan JIT could have Hafiz Saeed

As a Pakistan Joint Investigation Team visits the Pathankot Indian Air Force base, which was the scene of a terror attack in the first week of January 2016, opposition parties as well as allies have flayed Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic alliance government's decision to permit the team into the defence facility.

NDA constituent Shiv Sena targeted the government, saying "the way Pakistan JIT is being taken around Pathankot is wrong".

"Hafiz Saeed could be a part of this team and we will not know about it," said Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, asking if Pakistan would ever allow an Indian team to investigate any attack in this manner.

A group of Congress members also staged protest near the IAF base in Pathankot and demanded that Pakistani investigators be sent back. A protesting Congress worker pointed out that Pakistan continues to send armed terrorists to carry out strikes in India.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, too, had attacked the Centre on Monday for allowing the Pakistani team into the country. Pointing out that there have been several terror attacks in India, Kejriwal said, "The Prime Minister should tell the nation why is he kneeling before Pakistan."

Several banners screaming "Pakistan go back" and "Bharat ma ki dharti par ISI nahi chalegi (No Pakistani spy agency ISI in India)" were put up outside Delhi Assembly.

An Indian team escorted the five Pakistan JIT members to the attack scene, which was given only limited access to the airbase.

On Monday, NIA officials had raised Jaish-e-Mohammed's involvement in the attacks with the Pakistan team.

The IAF airbase was visually barricaded by NIA to prevent any view of its critical areas and NIA team showed some of the areas where the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists were engaged in an 80-hour-long gun battle with security personnel.

India plans to provide the probe team from Pakistan access to all witnesses in the Pathankot terror attack case but not security personnel from National Security Guard or the Border Security Force (BSF).

The sources said that cooperation to the Pakistani team would be based on the principle of reciprocity hoping that an Indian team would be allowed to travel to Pakistan at a later date.