NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has approached the FBI and other foreign investigating agencies to track down cyber footprints left behind by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed’s terrorists, who had attacked the IAF base at Pathankot.
While still awaiting a formal response from Pakistan for allowing an NIA team to that country for a thorough investigation, the agency has sought the help of its foreign counterparts to further decipher the cyber codes and their links with the attack. The NIA has also approached the international agencies to go on the trail of weapons and other equipment used by the terrorists.
A senior NIA officer said that immediately after the attack, Abdul Rauf, brother of Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar, was seen on a video claiming responsibility on two websites — alqalam.com and rangonoor.com — hosted by a US-based domain service provider. While alqalam was shut down before the arrival of Pakistan’s Joint Investigation Team to India, the other is still live but the video has been removed. Payments for the website have been routed through a European country. The NIA has sought details of those who made the payments and renewed the contract with the domain provider. In the meantime, Central intelligence and security agencies of Delhi, Goa and Mumbai warned Wednesday they had received inputs that three armed Pakistani terrorists, who might be suicide bombers, entered into the country and were planning attacks in these cities.
The intelligence agencies stated that the trio were travelling from Jammu and Kashmir in a grey Swift Dzire car along with a local resident and were expected to cross the Banihal tunnel in Punjab. “The car bearing registration number JK-01 AB-2654 is carrying three Pakistani militants and a local. The Pakistani militants have sufficient arms, ammunition and possibly suicide belt,” the alert said.
Meanwhilie, India has taken up at a “fairly high level” with China the issue of Beijing blocking its bid to have JeM chief Masood Azhar designated as terrorist by the UN but the issue will not “overflow” into other areas of bilateral ties, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said Wednesday. He also noted that the government has had “backing and forthing” on the issue with the Chinese.