Lahore, June 16

The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) leader who telephonically directed the terrorists during the attack on the Pathankot air base has reportedly managed to flee to Afghanistan from Pakistan.“The alleged JeM handler who communicated by telephone more than two dozen times with terrorists in Pathankot before they carried out the attack on January 2 has managed to cross the Afghan border,” said a member of the joint investigation team probing the attack.He said the JeM handler, who is in late 20s, was in the tribal area of Pakistan when he communicated 18 times with the terrorists. “The law enforcement agencies tried to trace him (in the tribal belt), but there are reports that he has managed to escape to Afghanistan,” he said, without disclosing the JeM leader’s identity.He said the investigation agencies have been under “immense pressure” from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to thoroughly probe the matter and come up with “true facts”.Although the counter-terrorism department (CTD) of Punjab Police registered an FIR against the alleged attackers of the Pathankot air base and abettors, not a single person has been charged.The FIR was registered at the Gujranwala CTD police station under Sections 302, 324 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code, and Sections 7 and 21-I of the Anti-Terrorism Act.The FIR says Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval informed that the attackers had come from Pakistan and “probably crossed the border adjacent to the Pathankot area”.  — PTIhttp://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/jem-pathankot-handler-flees-to-afghanistan/252992.html