Hosting Probe Team Amounts To 'Clean Chit' To Pakistan, Says Congress

New Delhi: Hitting out at the Centre over the visit by a Pakistani team to probe the Pathankot attack, Congress today alleged that by hosting it the government has given a "clean chit" to the Pakistani establishment over its "involvement" in acts of terror in India.

"India should have sent its probe team to Pakistan as the roots of terror are there and the conspiracy behind the attack on the strategic Pathankot air base was also planned there.

"In such a situation, why was the Pakistani Joint Investigation Team allowed here? Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP Chief Amit Shah should answer," party leader Kapil Sibal told reporters in New Delhi.

By allowing the visit of the Pakistani JIT, the government has given a "clean chit" to the Pakistani establishment on the issue of terror in India, he said.

Mr Sibal said the prime minister should have told Pakistan that no such team would be allowed into India until Indian investigators are permitted to interrogate terror masterminds like Masood Azhar and Dawood Ibrahim.

The Congress leader expressed shock over Pakistani spy agency ISI interrogating Indian officials and faulted the Modi dispensation for allowing such an "unprecedented thing". The visiting Pakistani Joint Investigation Team also has an ISI official.

Targeting the prime minister, Mr Sibal said those who used to allege that the Congress-led UPA was offering "biryani" to terrorists, are now throwing banquets (for Pakistani JIT).

"They are going to Pakistan to participate in birthday parties," he said in an apparent dig at PM Modi's surprise stopover in Lahore in December last year coinciding with the birthday of his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

"The Prime Minister and the BJP chief are embracing the terrorists and declaring our own people as terrorists. They have embraced ISI, but are dubbing (JNUSU president) Kanhaiya Kumar as a terrorist," Mr Sibal said as he referred to the representative of the Pakistani ISI, Lt Col Tanveer Ahmed, in the JIT.

The Congress leader said whenever governments led by BJP have attempted to normalise ties with Pakistan, the neighbouring country has betrayed the trust.

"When Vajpayee went to Lahore, the Kargil intrusion took place," he said.