The killing of Shahid Latif, key Jaish-e-Mohammed commander and handler in 2016 Pathankot airbase attack, by unidentified attackers, has brought into focus the presence of wanted terrorists in Pakistan and inaction by Lahore in helping India lay hands on perpetrators of the terror strike.
India sent Letters Rogatory (request for assistance in probe) to Pakistan on February 24, 2016, barely a month after the terror attack. Supplementary Letters Rogatory were sent again on May 11 of the same year, but Pakistan did not respond to them, top security officials said.
The National Investigation Agency chargesheet in the case explains the kind of assistance sought from Pakistan, which included the arrest and interrogation of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Rauf Asghar and two handlers—Kashif Jan and Shahid Latif.
New Delhi had also asked Pakistan to get their voice samples in order to match them with the voices of handlers which were recorded when they were talking to the four suicide attackers during the attack.
The NIA also sought DNA samples of the family members of the dead attackers and details of the Internet Protocol (IP) address used by the accused persons. The agency also wanted Pakistan counter-terror officials to verify the food items recovered from the dead attackers.
The NIA got Interpol Red Corner notices issued against Masood Azhar, Rauf Asghar and Shahid Latif, but Pakistan didn’t execute the notices of Interpol, despite the presence of all the accused on its soil.
Latif, designated as a terrorist under the UAPA, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Daska town of Sialkot in Pakistan recently. It has not only exposed the fact that Latif had been hiding on Pakistani soil, but also drawn attention to the fact that several most wanted terrorists of the NIA are taking shelter in Pakistan. This has been a matter of concern for security agencies.
Some of the cases cannot progress till the time the security agencies lay their hands on the accused or masterminds of the terror attacks, said an official, whether it is the Pathankot Airbase attack or even the 26/11 terror strike. Intelligence agencies have inputs of some of these most wanted terrorists being lodged in safe houses in Pakistan while victims of the terror strikes await justice and investigations drag on.
