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Pahalgam attack: 2 accused to remain in police remand till July 7
Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad Jothar have been accused of harbouring the terrorists from Pakistan who killed 26 civilians in Pahalgam two months ago
A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday extended the police remand of the two men, who had allegedly harboured three Pakistani terrorists responsible for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that left 26 people dead and scores injured. “The police remand of Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad Jothar has been extended for 10 days till July 7,” said a senior official, who declined to be named.
On Monday, the two men were produced before a Jammu court that had remanded them to five-day NIA remand.
The NIA had arrested the two men on Sunday for allegedly harbouring the terrorists who killed 26 civilians in Pahalgam two months ago. It was the first set of arrests in connection with the terror attack, the NIA had stated.
The NIA had said that Parvaiz and Bashir knew about the terror affiliations of the three gunmen and despite that they provided them with shelter, food and logistical support in the days leading up to the April 22 attack.
The duo disclosed the identities of the three armed terrorists involved in the attack, and have also confirmed that they were Pakistani nationals affiliated to the proscribed terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the anti-terror agency has said.
The Resistance Front, a proxy group of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba organisation, claimed responsibility for the attack. Security agencies say the group is a front used by Pakistan to avoid international sanctions.
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 militants. The operation sparked four days of cross-border fighting between the two nuclear-armed countries, involving fighter jets, missiles and artillery. US President Donald Trump claimed that he had enforced a ceasefire between the two warring countries.
However, India has outrightly denied that the US was behind the truce.
