Pakistani team heads to Indian air base to probe terror attack

A Pakistani team headed to the Pathankot air base in the northern Indian state of Punjab Tuesday to probe a deadly terror attack in January, which left seven Indian troops and six gunmen dead.

Sources said the five-member probe team, which include Pakistani intelligence and police officials, headed to Pathankot from Delhi in a bullet-proof vehicle as members of the opposition Congress party shouted slogans and raised black flags outside the strategic air base in protest against the visit.

"The Pakistan team will be taken to the area where six Pakistani terrorists engaged in a gun battle with the security forces on Jan. 2 and it will also get the opportunity to question some of the witnesses to the attack," the sources said.

India has already ruled out giving the Pakistani team access to sensitive areas of the air base. "Sensitive areas of the base have been barricaded to block the team members from even a basic view of those facilities," Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Monday.

Later in the day, the Pakistani probe team could also be taken to the international border to "retrace the route of the terrorists" and the hospital where the bodies of the six terrorists who had launched the attack have been kept, the sources said.

India has also made it clear that the Pakistani team will be allowed to question witnesses, including a police officer kidnapped by the terrorists, but not the security personnel.

The probe team, formed on the directions of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, arrived in the Indian capital Sunday. It is the first time that India has allowed such a team to come to the country to investigate a terror attack, hoping Islamabad will reciprocate the gesture. Endit