Pahalgam attack: NIA to file charge sheet today
HT had reported first on Saturday that the federal anti-terror probe agency will file its charge sheet in Pahalgam terror attack this week
Almost eight months after Pakistan backed attackers shot dead 25 tourists and a pony operator at Pahalgam’s Baisaran meadow with a motive to incite communal unrest, bringing two countries to the brink of a full-scale war, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is set to file a charge sheet in the terror attack on Monday.
HT had reported first on Saturday that the federal anti-terror probe agency will file its charge sheet in Pahalgam terror attack this week.
A NIA spokesperson said , “NIA to present chargesheet in Pahalgam terror attack case before special NIA court, Jammu today”.
People familiar with the NIA probe said the charge sheet will have names of Pakistan based leaders of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), its proxy The Resistance Front (TRF) besides the arrested locals - Bashir Ahmad Jothar and Parvez Ahmad Jothar - who had harboured the three Pakistani terrorists - Suleiman Shah, Hamza Afghani alias Afghan and Jibran - before the gruesome killings on April 22.
The charge sheet is being filed within the statutory 180-day deadline from the day of first arrest (June 22) in the terror attack cases.
Officials said the NIA charge sheet will mention in detail how three Pakistani attackers “stormed a village, asked people their religion, and killed them, which was a clear attempt to incite communal violence”.
The federal agency interrogated over a 1,000 persons during its probe and has collected various technical, forensic evidence to link Pakistan based terrorists to the terror attack.
It also found Aadhar cards, photographs and Facebook IDs of certain individuals from the mobile phones of three Pakistani terrorists, who were eventually killed by the security forces in the Dachigam forest on July 28 - after a three month long hunt.
Several end-to-end encrypted communications between the three terrorists - Suleiman Shah, Hamza Afghani alias Afghan and Jibran - and their handler based in Pakistan, who planned and organised the Pahalgam attack, have also been decoded which will form part of NIA evidence in the charge sheet.
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The Pahalgam attack brought India and Pakistan at the brink of full-scale war, with India launching Operation Sindoor on May 7. As part of the operation, Indian forces bombed nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in pre-dawn strikes --- in which at least 100 terrorists were killed --- and sparked a series of attacks and counter-attacks across the western border, involving fighter jets, missiles, armed drones, and fierce artillery and rocket duels.
In one such attack on the night of May 9-10, the Indian Air Force struck targets at 13 Pakistani airbases and military installations. After four days of fighting, military hostilities were stopped on May 10 evening as the two nations reached an understanding.
