Hashim Musa, one of the two Pakistani terrorists identified in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, has been confirmed as a former member of Pakistan’s elite Para Forces, according to security sources.
Investigators have learned that Musa was dismissed from the Pakistan Army before joining the banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). He reportedly infiltrated into India in September 2023 and has been operating primarily in Kashmir’s Budgam district, close to Srinagar.
Sources in the security establishment believe Musa’s entry into LeT may have been orchestrated by Pakistan’s Special Service Group (SSG), the army’s elite commando unit, to strengthen the group’s operations in the Kashmir Valley.
A trained para commando, Musa is said to have expertise in unconventional warfare and covert operations. “Commandos of this caliber are proficient in handling sophisticated weapons, skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and equipped with advanced navigation and survival abilities,” a senior security official noted.
Musa’s military background was revealed during the interrogation of one of the 14 Kashmiri Over Ground Workers (OGWs) detained as part of the investigation. These OGWs are suspected of providing logistical support to the attackers and helping them with reconnaissance of the target site.
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Security officials now say there is increasing evidence pointing to direct involvement of the Pakistan Army and its intelligence agency, the ISI, in planning the attack. They noted similarities between the Pahalgam incident and a string of attacks in October 2024 that left six non-local civilians, a doctor, two Indian Army soldiers, and two porters dead. Musa has also been linked to three other attacks that occurred earlier in 2024.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is leading the probe, has confirmed the involvement of a well-organized local network operating in South Kashmir. Investigators found that OGWs not only provided shelter and logistical support to the attackers but also potentially helped in transporting the weapons used during the assault.
According to sources, while it is confirmed that Pakistani nationals Hashim Musa and Ali Bhai, along with local militants Adil Thoker and Asif Shaikh, were directly involved in the Pahalgam attack, the interrogation of OGWs suggests that additional Pakistani terrorists may have played a role.
The April 22 attack, in which gunmen opened fire on a crowd gathered at a popular meadow near Pahalgam, resulted in the deaths of 26 people—most of them tourists—and left several others injured. It marks the deadliest terror strike in Jammu and Kashmir since the 2019 Pulwama bombing.
Authorities continue to investigate the broader terror network behind the Pahalgam massacre, as security forces intensify their operations in the region.
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