Gathered a substantial body of evidence on identity of Pahalgam attackers: NIA
NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday said it has gathered substantial body of evidence regarding the identities of three Pakistani terrorists involved in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack based on testimonies from witnesses, video footages, technical evidence and even the sketches earlier released by Jammu and Kashmir Police. Soldiers patrol near Pahalgam in Anantnag, south of Srinagar on 23 April (HT File Photo/Waseem Andrabi)
It, however, refused to name the three Pakistani terrorists saying their identities and other details will be shared at an 'appropriate time'.
The agency added that media reports or social media posts regarding the identifies and sketches of terrorists are 'speculative' and 'therefore of misleading nature'.
Two Pahalgam residents, Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad Jothar, who are accused of harbouring the Pakistani attackers and providing them with food, have been remanded in NIA custody for five days.
'The NIA has gathered a substantial body of evidence regarding the identities of the terrorists. This includes eyewitness accounts from victims, video footages, technical evidence, and the sketches released by the Jammu and Kashmir Police. All this evidence is being carefully analysed and NIA has not reached any conclusions at this stage,' said the NIA in a statement on Monday.
'The NIA assures that the investigation is being carried out with the highest standards of professionalism, and all aspects of the terror attack are being thoroughly examined. The identities and further details of the terrorists will be made public at an appropriate time,' it added.
'It is reiterated that, as stated in the official press release dated 22 June 2025, two accused persons have been arrested in connection with the attack. During their interrogation, they have disclosed details about the identities of the three armed terrorists involved,' the statement said.
On Sunday, the agency said Parvaiz and Bashir knowingly harboured the three armed terrorists at a seasonal dhok (hut) at Hill Park before the attack. 'The two men had provided food, shelter and logistical support to the terrorists who selectively killed the tourists on the basis of their religious identity,' it said on Sunday.
The anti-terror agency also said that the three terrorists involved in the attack were Pakistani nationals affiliated to the proscribed terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
The Resistance Front, a proxy group for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba organisation, had claimed responsibility for the attack. Indian agencies say the group is a front used by Pakistan to avoid international sanctions.
As first reported by HT on April 24, intelligence agencies traced the attack's digital communications to safe houses in Muzaffarabad and Karachi, establishing Pakistani involvement in what officials described as similar to the control room-operated 2008 Mumbai attacks.
India responded with Operation Sindoor on May 7, bombing nine terrorist camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in pre-dawn strikes that killed at least 100 terrorists. The operation sparked four days of cross-border fighting involving fighter jets, missiles and artillery.
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