Why Maxar Technologies, US firm, is under scanner for Pahalgam satellite images controversy

First Post

12-05-2025

Maxar Technologies in February 2025 saw at least a dozen orders for high-resolution satellite images of Pahalgam and its surrounding areas. Orders for the pictures came months after Pakistani firm Business System International Pvt Ltd (BSI), whose Pakistani-American businessman owner was convicted of a federal crime in the US and who has links to top officials and agencies that are involved with Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, became a partner of Maxar read more
US firm Maxar Technologies is under the scanner over high-resolution images of Pahalgam. Image courtesy: Maxar.com
US firm Maxar Technologies is under the scanner.
According to reports, someone placed a request for high-resolution images of Pahalgam months before the attack.
This came months after Maxar became partners with a Pakistan-based geo-spatial company whose owner has been convicted of a federal crime in the US.
But what do we know about Maxar? What happened? And what do experts say?
What we know about Maxar
Maxar is an American satellite and space company based in Colorado.
The firm's website describes it as a 'leading provider of secure, precise geospatial insights.'
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It says it offers the most comprehensive suite of commercial satellite imagery.
Maxar says it uses Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, which allows it to peer through clouds and darkness.
According to its website, Maxar Space Systems was established in 1957 as Western Development Laboratories – a division of Philco.
Maxar says it is a 'leading provider of secure, precise geospatial insights'. Image courtesy: LinkedIn
Philco in the 1960 built the world's first active repeater satellite.
The firm became Philco-Ford after being bought by the Ford Motor Company
The company later became Space Systems/Loral in 1990, then SSL, before merging into Maxar.
Maxar is currently owned by US private equity firm Advent International as well as minority investor British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI).
What happened?
The Print reported that Maxar in February 2025 witnessed at least a dozen orders for high-resolution satellite images of Pahalgam and its surrounding areas.
Orders for the images began appearing on the Maxar portal in June.
The development came months after a Pakistani geospatial company named Business System International Pvt Ltd (BSI) became a partner of Maxar.
According to the report, Syed has links to top officials and agencies that are involved with Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme – the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and the National Development Complex (NDC).
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The relationship was uncovered by the US government's Homeland Security Investigation (HIS) way back in 2020.
As per the outlet, the HIS complaint filed before US Magistrate Judge M David Weisman on 15 September 2020 states that these agencies are responsible for 'weaponising nuclear technology through missile development and other means.'
Orders for the images, which began appearing on the Maxar portal in June, came months after a Pakistani geospatial company named Business System International Pvt Ltd (BSI) became a partner of the firm. Representational image. Reuters
The Print said that the complaint alleged that 'BSI purchases satellite images from a Colorado-based company and then sells those images to an unspecified arm of the Pakistan government.'
As per News18, Syed was convicted in 2022 for violating US export law.
He s ent satellite imagery and services to Pakistani firms on the US Entity List.
This is not allowed without explicit approval from the US government.
Syed also failed to get the mandated export licenses from the US Departments of Commerce or State – which is needed when transferring sensitive information to sanctioned or restricted entities.
As per Business Today, Syed illegally exported high-performance computer equipment to PEAC.
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Despite this, his company became a partner with Maxar in 2023, as per The Print.
While the outlet said there is no proof that BSI – owned by Pakistani-American businessman Obaidullah Syed – ordered the images this time, experts it spoke to expressed concern about the development.
'The very fact that a Pakistani company was taken on as a partner by Maxar without any background check is alarming,' a source who has subscribed to Maxar services told the outlet. 'India should pressure such satellite imaging and data companies to stop operations with Pakistan.'
Maxar has denied that the BSI placed any order for images of Pahalgam.
'Our records indicate that BSI (the Pakistan-linked firm) has neither placed any tasking orders of Pahalgam or the surrounding areas this year, nor have they ordered any of the imagery of those areas through our archive,' a Maxar official told India Today TV.
The official called the news reports claiming otherwise 'false and misleading'.
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Interestingly, ThePrint has said that Maxar removed BSI from its partner page hours after its report went up.
The outlet said Maxar is yet to confirm whether BSI has been removed as a partner.
What do experts say?
Experts have cast doubt on the media reports.
'When you have local support and logistics in the form of sleeper cells, you don't need fresh satellite imagery to execute a terror plot that involved shooting at tourists from point-blank range,' an intelligence officer familiar with the matter told India Today TV.
'Why would they risk operational secrecy with high-end satellite imagery acquisition when they have feet on the ground?' the officer asked.
'Accessing satellite imagery is no longer a bureaucratic exercise of the past, and it is no longer limited to large satellite companies. There are US, European, Chinese and even Israeli service providers competing in the market. Today, one can even order a satellite tasking request for new imagery through a mobile app, without even incorporating a company,' an industry insider told India Today TV.
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Nathan Ruser, an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), an independent think-tank, too cast doubts on such reports.
'Nothing in this article successfully demonstrates any abnormal patterns of satellite imaging over the terror attack,' Ruser wrote on X.
With inputs from agencies