Pahalgam Carnage: NIA Chargesheet Exposes Pak hand

 

Suhail Khan

 

Srinagar, Dec 15: Nearly eight months after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, a top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander was among the seven accused named in an NIA chargesheet in connection with the case. In total, the chargesheet names five individual suspects and two terror outfits—the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and The Resistance Front (TRF)—for the Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 people, mostly tourists, on April 22.

 

According to the Kashmir Convener, the chargesheet highlights Pakistan’s conspiracy, the roles of the accused, and the supporting evidence in the case. It charges LeT/TRF with planning, facilitating, and executing the Pahalgam attack. Sajid Jatt, a top LeT commander who was the main handler of the attack, has been named in the 1,597-page chargesheet.

 

As per this newspaper, the NIA chargesheet also names three Pakistani terrorists—Suleman Shah, Habeeb Tahir (aka Jibran), and Hamza Afghani—who were gunned down in an encounter with security forces near Srinagar in July.

 

The LeT/TRF, as well as the four accused individuals, have been charged under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, the Arms Act, 1959, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. In its chargesheet, the NIA has also invoked penal sections against the accused for waging war against India.

 

Additionally, two more suspects—Parvaiz Ahmad and Bashir Ahmad—who were arrested by the NIA on June 22 for allegedly harboring the three terrorists, have also been chargesheeted.

 

During questioning, the two men disclosed the identities of the three terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack and confirmed that they were Pakistani nationals affiliated with LeT.

 

Notably, the Pahalgam attack brought India and Pakistan to the brink of a full-scale conflict. On May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor, conducting pre-dawn aerial strikes on nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), which reportedly killed at least 100 terrorists. This action triggered a series of attacks and counter-attacks along the western border, involving fighter jets, missiles, armed drones, and intense artillery duels.

 

In a subsequent escalation on the night of May 9–10, the Indian Air Force struck targets at 13 Pakistani airbases and military installations.

 

After four days of heightened military hostilities, the two nations reached an understanding, and hostilities ceased on the evening of May 10.