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| Pahalgam carnage was Pakistan’s plot: NIA | | Presents chargesheet against LeT founder Hafiz Saeed | | Early Times Report
Jammu, July 6: In a major development in the investigation into the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed a supplementary chargesheet against Pakistan-based terrorist and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, accusing him of masterminding the conspiracy that led to the killing of 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir.
The supplementary chargesheet, filed before the NIA Special Court in Jammu, names Hafiz Saeed both in his individual capacity and as the chief of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its proxy outfit, The Resistance Front (TRF). He has been charged under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), including offences related to waging war against India and criminal conspiracy allegedly orchestrated from Pakistan.
The latest chargesheet supplements the agency's original 1,597-page chargesheet and lays out what the NIA describes as a meticulously planned cross-border terror conspiracy directed by Pakistan-based handlers. It details Hafiz Saeed's alleged role and presents forensic, digital, technical, and witness evidence linking the attackers to Pakistan.
The April 22 attack at the popular tourist destination of Pahalgam claimed the lives of 25 tourists and one local civilian in what investigators described as religion-based targeted killings carried out by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists. The case was initially registered at Police Station Pahalgam in Anantnag district before being transferred to the NIA by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Earlier, on December 15, 2025, the NIA had chargesheeted Pakistan-based terrorist handler Sajid Jatt, three terrorists who were later killed during Operation Mahadev in July 2025, two arrested accused, and the banned LeT/TRF as a terrorist organisation for its role in planning and executing the attack.
According to the supplementary chargesheet, the conspiracy was orchestrated by handlers linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba and the TRF, with both technical and human intelligence providing what the agency termed "clear and compelling evidence" of Pakistan's involvement.
The NIA said the first claim of responsibility for the attack appeared on a Telegram channel named "Kashmir Fight," whose IP address was traced to Battagram in Pakistan. Following condemnation by the United Nations Security Council, the TRF claimed that its Telegram channel had been hacked and denied involvement.
Investigators also traced another Telegram channel, "TheResistanceFront_Official," to Rawalpindi. The agency alleged that the sequence of online messages reflected a coordinated disinformation campaign intended to portray the massacre as a "false flag" operation after international attention intensified.
The chargesheet also cites forensic evidence obtained from two mobile phones recovered from two of the three terrorists killed during Operation Mahadev. According to the NIA, supply-chain data obtained from Xiaomi established that both handsets had been sold and delivered in Pakistan.
One mobile phone was delivered to Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate in Kot Lakhpat, Lahore, while the second was traced to Shahrah-e-Faisal in Karachi. Investigators said the findings provide strong evidence of logistical support and operational planning originating from Pakistani territory.
The NIA further alleged that Sajid Jatt had built an extensive network of overground workers (OGWs) in South Kashmir, which was used to facilitate the Pahalgam massacre. The agency claimed that after the abrogation of Article 370, Sajid played a key role in creating the TRF as Lashkar-e-Taiba's local proxy to project Pakistan-backed terrorism as an indigenous insurgency.
According to the chargesheet, Sajid also supervised the cross-border smuggling of arms and narcotics into Jammu and Kashmir using drones.
The agency cited the statement of a protected witness who told investigators that the three terrorists spoke Urdu with a Punjabi accent and repeatedly referred to "Jatt @ Ali" while staying at a local shelter before carrying out the attack. The witness said the terrorists discussed the forthcoming Shri Amarnath Yatra, nearby security installations, and troop movements, suggesting they were gathering intelligence for future strikes.
The investigation further revealed that Sajid, who reportedly lost a leg in an encounter and now uses a prosthetic limb, dispatched the three terrorists towards the Besaran Valley between April 15 and 16, indicating that the conspiracy was finalised only days before the massacre.
The NIA said its investigation into Case RC-02/2025/NIA/JMU is continuing to uncover the full extent of the cross-border conspiracy. The agency maintained that the supplementary chargesheet exposes not only the operational involvement of Pakistan-based handlers but also a coordinated propaganda campaign aimed at misleading the international community and concealing the direct role of Lashkar-e-Taiba and The Resistance Front in one of the deadliest civilian terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir in recent years. |
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