Amit Shah comes to Lok Sabha armed with proof on Pahalgam attackers

Time of India

29-07-2025

NEW DELHI: The three Pakistani terrorists who gunned down 26 civilians, including 25 tourists, in J&K's Pahalgam in front of their horror-struck families, were cornered and killed on Monday in a joint operation by the Army, CRPF and police in Dachigam area on the outskirts of Srinagar, home minister Amit Shah disclosed in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Participating in the debate on Operation Sindoor, Shah identified the three attackers killed in 'Operation Mahadev' as Suleman alias Faizal Jatt alias Anas alias Usama Markaz; Hamza Afghan; and Jibran, all Pakistanis and affiliated to the Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT).
Suleman, a top-grade LeT commander and the mastermind of the April 22 Pahalgam attack, was also involved in the Oct 2024 attack at the Z-Morh construction site in Gagangir, in which six labourers and a local doctor were killed, he said.
Both Hamza and Jibran were also 'A-grade' LeT terrorists.
The three were identified by family members of two locals arrested on June 22 by NIA - Parvaiz and Bashir. The duo had provided food and shelter to them at their 'dhok (seasonal hut)' some 2km from Baisaran prior to the attack. A source said they were paid around Rs 3,000 by the terrorists.
Shah had come to LS armed with conclusive evidence of direct involvement of the three terrorists in the Pahalgam attack as well as their Pakistani roots.
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The ballistic report, he said, matched the cartridges and barrel of the weapons recovered from the slain terrorists, with the spent casings secured from the attack site. Two of the three terrorists were carrying Pakistani voter IDs and the weapons - an M4 carbine and two AK-47s - and chocolates recovered from them further sealed the Pakistani link.
The neutralisation of all three Pahalgam attackers marks the culmination of a massive manhunt, which started with Shah's instructions to the forces at a security meeting on April 23 to not allow them to escape to Pakistan.
As many as 1,055 eyewitnesses and suspects were questioned by NIA and other agencies over 3,000 hours, and sketches of the terrorists were prepared.
Shah said it was on May 22 that human intelligence on presence of the assailants in Dachigam area was received. Technical surveillance was mounted by the Army and Intelligence Bureau to capture 'Ultra' signals of communications between the terrorists and their handlers in Pakistan. "IB, Army and CRPF personnel traversed on foot in cold and high altitudes to receive the signals. On July 22, we got success through sensors, and the location of the terrorists was confirmed.
An operation was launched by CRPF and J&K Police under the leadership of 4 Para, and the three terrorists were surrounded and killed," he said.