Nearly eight months following the devastating Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, where 26 persons, mostly tourists, lost their lives at the hands of Pakistan-based terrorists, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a comprehensive chargesheet against six accused individuals, along with treating the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its proxy outfit, The Resistance Front (TRF), as a single entity.
The extensive 1,597-page chargesheet, submitted on Monday before the NIA Special Court in Jammu, meticulously outlines Pakistan's deep-rooted conspiracy in sponsoring the attack, the specific roles played by the accused, and the corroborating evidence gathered during the investigation. It explicitly charges the prohibited LeT and TRF for their direct involvement in planning, facilitating, and executing the deadly Pahalgam assault.
Prominently featured as an accused is the Pakistani handler Sajid Jatt. The chargesheet also includes the names of the three Pakistani terrorists who were eliminated by Indian security forces during Operation Mahadev in the Dachigam forests on the outskirts of Srinagar in July, just weeks after the attack. These terrorists have been identified as Faisal Jatt, alias Suleman Shah; Habeeb Tahir, alias Jibran; and Hamza Afghani.
The LeT/TRF entity, along with the aforementioned four terrorists (including Sajid Jatt), faces charges under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023; the Arms Act, 1959; and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Additionally, the NIA has invoked stringent penal provisions related to waging war against India.
Sources indicate that the chargesheet is the culmination of a thorough and meticulous scientific investigation conducted over nearly eight months, which successfully traced the entire conspiracy back to Pakistan—a nation that continues to unabatedly sponsor terrorism against India.
Two local accused—Parvaiz Ahmad and Bashir Ahmad Jothatd—who were arrested by the NIA on June 22, for harbouring the terrorists, have also been chargesheeted. During their interrogation, the duo revealed the identities of the three armed terrorists responsible for the attack and confirmed their Pakistani nationality as well as their affiliation with the proscribed LeT terror outfit.
In Jammu, enhanced special security arrangements were deployed as NIA officials arrived at the special court to submit the chargesheet.
LeT commander Sajid Jatt, born in 1982 and a resident of Kasur in Pakistan, has been designated as a key handler in the chargesheet. He operates under multiple aliases, including Habibullah Malik, Saifullah, and Usman Habib, and stands accused of orchestrating attacks on soldiers in the Poonch district of the Jammu division.
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Jatt has a history of radicalising youths in Kashmir and recruiting them into militancy through his established network. According to information available with The Tribune, he served as a key handler for terrorists responsible for attacks on soldiers in Bhata Dhurian in Poonch.
Furthermore, Jatt is alleged to have facilitated the dropping of arms and ammunition via drones along the International Border and the Line of Control in the Jammu region. Reports also link him to the creation of terrorist networks and involvement in the fidayeen attack on the Army at Hyderpora in Srinagar in June 2013, as well as the killing of the Station House Officer of Chadoora in Budgam in December 2013.
The Pahalgam attack, which selectively targeted civilians and nearly escalated tensions to the brink of war between India and Pakistan, prompted India to launch Operation Sindoor on May 7. Under this operation, Indian forces conducted pre-dawn strikes, bombing several terror camps across the border in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, resulting in the elimination of numerous terrorists.
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