Nagrota attacker made multiple Pakistan visits legally to meet Jaish leaders: NIA
New Delhi, June 7: Mohammad Ashiq Baba, one of the arrested accused in the terror attack on Nagrota Army camp in Jammu and Kashmir in 2016, had visited Pakistan four times "legally" with a reference letter issued by senior Hurriyat leaders, the NIA said on Thursday.
"As part of conspiracy to conduct attacks on the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, terrorist Baba visited Pakistan four times, crossing the Wagah border between 2015 to 2017 legally," a National Investigation Agency (NIA) official said in Delhi.
"He obtained his visas after getting reference letters from Huriyat leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Gani Bhat and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq," the official added.
The officer revealed that Baba met Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) commanders in Pakistan and took directions from them after getting clearance from a local ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) agent.
"Baba thereafter, on return, received instructions on how and when to receive the group of terrorists.
"Baba later went to Pakistan in April/May 2017, and met Waseem, Abu Talha and Mufti Ashghar. He also met Maulana Rauf, brother of Maulana Masood Azhar, and an accused in the Pathankot attack case at their headquarters at Bahawalpur," the official revealed.
The counter-terror probe agency also said that the three terrorists arrested for the November 2016 attack on the camp -- Baba, JeM operative Syed Muneer-Ul-Hasan-Qadri and Pulwama-based timber dealer Tariq Ahmad Dar -- were in regular touch with JeM commanders based in Pakistan.
"... they were in contact through Whatsapp voice and text messages with Maulana Mufti Ashghar based in Muzaffarabad, whose nephew Waqas, a JeM commander in south Kashmir, died in a shootout with security forces near Pulwama.
"They were also in touch with Qari Zarar, another JeM commander in charge of launching terrorists into Jammu region, based out of Rawalpindi and Waseem and Abu Talha," the NIA official said.
Seven soldiers were killed in the attack on the Nagrota Army camp in November 2016. Three attackers too were killed in the counter-operation.
The official said that nearly a week prior to the attack, the three arrested accused were given GPS coordinates along the Samba Sector and possible targets along the Nagrota Army camp through Whatsapp from Pakistani handlers. They were also asked to conduct reconnaissance of these targets, which they did.
The NIA claimed that the three accused received a group of three attackers on November 28, 2016, a day before the attack and travelled in two vehicles to Jammu after keeping their weapons concealed in one of the two cars owned by Dar and Baba.
"They parked the car with weapons at a paid parking slot and then stayed at a hotel in Jammu. The same day, Baba took one of the attackers, Abu Hisham, to Nagrota to show him the spot to be attacked and returned to the hotel," the official said.
The official said that later in the night, the three Indian terrorists left for the attack site along with the Pakistani attackers and were dropped near the Army camp.
He said that Baba and Qadri received another group of three terrorists in March 2017 from the Samba Sector and dropped them at Khrew near Pampore.
The NIA official said that a hefty amount of money originating from the Gulf countries was transferred into Baba's HDFC Bank account.
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Bangladesh wants Hasina back, sends note verbale to India
Dhaka (PTI): Bangladesh's interim government said on Monday that it has sent a diplomatic note to India to send back deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina to Dhaka.
Hasina, 77, has been living in exile in India since Aug 5 when she fled the country amid the student-led protests that toppled her 16-year regime. Bangladesh-based International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has issued arrest warrants for Hasina and several former Cabinet ministers, advisers, and military and civil officials for "crimes against humanity and genocide".
“We have sent a note verbale to the Indian government saying that Bangladesh wants her back here for the judicial process,” Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain told reporters at his office.
Earlier in the morning, Home Advisor Jahangir Alam said his office has sent a letter to the foreign ministry to facilitate the ousted premier's extradition from India.
“We have sent a letter to the foreign ministry regarding her extradition. The process is currently underway,” he told reporters in response to a query.
Alam said an extradition treaty between Dhaka and New Delhi already exists and Hasina could be brought back to Bangladesh under it.
Last month, in an address to the nation on the completion of 100 days of the interim government, Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said it will seek the extradition of Hasina.
“We must ensure justice in every killing… We will also ask India to send back fallen autocrat Sheikh Hasina,” he said.
Yunus, who assumed office on August 8, claimed that about 1,500 people, including students and workers, were killed while 19,931 others were wounded during the protest against the Hasina government.
In October, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul had reportedly said that Bangladesh would strongly protest if India tried to refuse Hasina's extradition by citing any provision in the treaty.
In an interview with PTI in Dhaka in September, Yunus had said that Hasina making political remarks from India is an “unfriendly gesture", asserting that she must remain silent to prevent discomfort to both countries until Dhaka requests her extradition.
"If India wants to keep her until the time Bangladesh (government) wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet," he said.
In recent weeks, Hasina has accused the Yunus-led interim government of perpetrating "genocide" and failing to protect minorities, especially Hindus, since her ouster.
