NIA chargesheet details how Pathankot Air Base attack unfolded

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed a chargesheet in connection with the January 2nd Pathankot airbase attack, naming Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and three others of the proscribed outfit as accused. The development comes in the midst of a diplomatic rift between India and China after the latter stonewalled Indian efforts to get UN sanctions against Azhar and JeM.

The agency has showcased evidences against the JeM that include DNA samples collected from the four slain Pakistani nationals, footprints of one of the terrorists obtained from Bamiyal, packages of food and drinks consumed by the slain men from the sites, and cars which they used before entering the Air Base. Among other evidences is a note which the NIA says was from Mahindra XUV vehicle recovered which read, \"Jaish E Muhamad Zindabad Tanghdar se le kar Samba Kathua Rajbagh Aur delhi tak Afzal Guru Shadeed Kay Jan nisar Tum ko meltay rahege. Insha Allah. A.G.S. 25- 12-15\" which translates to 'Long live Jaish-e-Mohammad. From Samba, Kathua, Rajbagh (areas in Jammu and Kashmir) to Delhi, you will find men willing to lay their lives for Martyr Afzal Guru.'

The slip was signed off on December 25,2015 as AGS shot for Afzal Guru Squad.

The NIA-led probe has established that four Pakistani Nationals who attacked the air base belonged to the recently formed Afzal Guru Squad which works under the JeM command based in Pakistan.

While the chargesheet could likely be used by Indian diplomats to highlight the role of Azhar in the Pathankot attack at international forums, the probe has revealed startling details about the attack that claimed lives of seven security personnel during an 80-hour long stand-off inside the Indian Air Force station located in Punjab's Pathankot area.

The chargesheet states that the four Pakistani nationals identified as Nasir Hussain, Hafiz Abu Bakar, Umar Farooq and Abdul Qayum were residents of Vehari (Punjab), Gujranwala (Punjab), Sanghar (Sindh) and Sukkur (Sindh) of Pakistan respectively.

All the men had infiltrated into India through the forest area near the Simbal Border Outpost on 30th December at 2 am which means almost two days before the attack. According to NIA, the terrorists, were not only successful in avoiding getting traced from 2am on December 30 till January 1 early morning (when they entered into the air base), but also avoided detection for almost a day after hiding themselves in a 'nallah' inside the base. In fact, one of the men named Nasir made calls from inside the base waiting to launch the attack.

The first call was made at 8.40 am to a man named Khayam Bhatti who, according to NIA, runs a local merchandise shop shop in Rum area of Sialkot in Pakistan. The conversation did not take place so Nasir called again on a different Pakistani number an hour later and requested to speak to his mother.

\"While speaking to the lady addressed as his mother, Nasir asked her to record his conversation on the mobile set. During his conversation with her, Nasir mentioned about one "Ustad" who was supposed to come to her with his "Wasihat" after his death. Nasir also asked her to host a "dawat" (feast) for his "derawala friends" after his death. The terrorist, Nasir also took the names of some of the members in his family / relatives, viz, Mudassir, Mariyam and Altamash, in the conversation. Nasir also disclosed that they were hiding inside the Air Force Station (referred to as Camp in conversation) and waiting to carry out the terror attack,\"NIA said.

NIA findings are however yet to find coherence with that of the NSG, which has maintained that not four but six militants had attacked the Air Force station.Moreover, Salwinder Singh, the Gurdaspur superintendent of police (SP), who, on December 31, was allegedly abducted by the same group of JeM militants, has been given a clean chit in the NIA probe after being on the scanner of the agency for several months. The agency has established that the claims made by Singh were founded and suggested that the JeM were not aware of the fact that Salwinder wasa a cop. It was only after his associate Rajesh Verma told them that they came to know about his profession