What MEA told Parliament panel about Pakistan's involvement in Pahalgam attack

MEA's presentation to the Parliamentary panel gave a detailed picture of how Pakistan-based handlers coordinated the April 22 assault in Pahalgam.

The initial probe into the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people, has exposed communication nodes linking the attackers directly to masterminds operating out of Pakistan, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told a parliamentary committee on Monday.

Security personnel inspect the site following the Pahalgam terrorist attack that took place on April 22.(ANI)

MEA's presentation to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, chaired by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, gave a detailed picture of how Pakistan-based handlers coordinated the April 22 assault in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.

The attackers’ methods bore “distinct footprints” of previous attacks claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a group that the ministry said is just another name for the designated terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

The officials also described the use of sophisticated cross-border communication nodes as a major enabler of the attack, reported PTI.

Pakistan's track record as a terror sanctuary is well-established, rooted in solid facts and evidence, the ministry said.

Ministry flags Pakistan's denial approach

The MEA also aimed at Pakistan’s consistent denial of terror links, accusing it of attempting to “draw a false equivalence” by alleging Indian involvement in extra-judicial killings on Pakistani soil.

"Pakistan blames India for the killings of some individuals, labelled as extra-judicial and extra-territorial by the neighbouring country, on its soil, even though its allegations are devoid of any facts or evidence," the MEA said.

"It is meant to draw a false equivalence between the two countries to suggest that both neighbours are victims of cross-border terrorism, which is not the case, it said in the presentation," it added.

Meanwhile, the ministry underscored that UN-designated terrorists such as Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi continue to enjoy impunity in Pakistan while inciting violence against India.

Operation Sindoor

After the Pahalgam terror attack, the Indian armed forces carried out retaliatory missile strikes early on May 7 at nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba Muridke base.

The strikes were conducted under Operation Sindoor, two weeks after the execution-style killings of 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.

Over 100 terrorists, including high-value targets such as Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudasir Ahmed, were eliminated during Operation Sindoor.

India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to halt military actions after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Following the pause, the Union government formed seven delegations comprising 59 political leaders, parliamentarians and former ministers, cutting across party lines, who will travel to world capitals to put across India's resolve to tackle terrorism.

With inputs from PTI