The  bodies of four terrorists were buried keeping with Islamic rituals.

By Chanchal Manohar Singh

Chandigarh: India was on Wednesday forced to bury the four Jaish-e-Muhammed terrorists involved in the Pathankot terror attack after Pakistan washed its hands of the slain quartet despite irrefutable proof they had been sent by the terror outfit to launch attacks on India reported Times of India.

According to ToI report in the documents submitted to Pakistani officials, Indians have given precise co-ordinates of all the four terrorists. Nasir, Abu Bakar, Farooq and Qayum were identified as residents of Vehari (Punjab), Gujranwala (Punjab), Sanghar (Sindh) and Sukkur (Sindh) districts of Pakistan, respectively.

Despite India providing evidence on their nationality to Pakistan, including electronic intercepts, Islamabad, keen to erase its links to the jihadi squad Jaish had sent to attack the strategically crucial air base in India, disowned them as "unverifiable bodies". Initially, Pakistan, faced with compelling evidence marshalled by Indian probe agencies on the four militants, had acknowledged that all four were its nationals, the ToI said.

Though India has been asking Islamabad to take possession of the bodies of the four militants, the latter conveyed its reluctance to do so earlier this week which led the authorities here to bury the bodies in keeping with Islamic rituals.

According to ToI report in the documents submitted to Pakistani officials, Indians have given precise co-ordinates of all the four terrorists. Nasir, Abu Bakar, Farooq and Qayum were identified as residents of Vehari (Punjab), Gujranwala (Punjab), Sanghar (Sindh) and Sukkur (Sindh) districts of Pakistan, respectively.

Nasir had even talked to his mother after he crossed over into India and was heading towards the airbase in the car the gang had jacked from Punjab police SP Salwinder Singh.

However, this is not the first instance where Pakistan refused to own up its nationals who it has often called 'strategic assets'

Islamabad refused to come forward to claim bodies of members of another Jaish module who virtually triggered a war between the two countries by carrying out an audacious attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001.

At the time of Kargil war, it, in fact, disowned its soldiers who had been guised as 'non-state' actors.

Islamabad had denied that the 26/11 attackers were its nationals, but had to grudgingly own up the gang after reports in Pakistani media exposed the truth about Ajmal Kasab and his jehadi comrades.

The four bodies had been kept in Pathankot hospital mortuary for past four months, in anticipation that Pakistan would take them.

Pakistan's response came as a suprise to investigators who see this as a major about-turn. The officials also see this as a clear sign that Pakistan will not provide any evidence to India against Jaish-e-Muhammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar and other conspirators of the deadly attack.