Pahalgam attack case: NIA chargesheet against Pak-based handler, 6 others

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed a detailed chargesheet against seven accused in connection with the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack, naming Pakistan-based militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its proxy organisation The Resistance Front (TRF), along with a key handler operating from across the border. The chargesheet was filed before the special NIA Court in Jammu.

The attack, carried out in the Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam, left 25 Hindu male tourists — 24 Indians and a Nepalese national — and a local Muslim pony operator dead. The NIA has described it as a case of religion-based targeted killings, carried out by militants allegedly backed by and directed from Pakistan.

In a significant legal step, the agency has arraigned the banned LeT/TRF as an organisation, holding it criminally liable for its alleged role in planning, facilitating and executing the attack. The 1,597-page chargesheet details what the agency calls a cross-border conspiracy, the roles of individual accused, and the evidence gathered during an investigation spanning nearly eight months.

According to the NIA, Pakistan-based handler Sajid Jatt has been named as an accused for allegedly coordinating the attack. The agency has also invoked penal provisions relating to waging war against India, underlining its claim that the assault formed part of a broader campaign of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

The chargesheet further names three militants killed by the Army during Operation Mahadev in the Dachigam forest area of Srinagar on 29 July, nearly 100 days after the Pahalgam attack. They have been identified by the NIA as Faisal Jatt alias Suleman Shah, Habeeb Tahir alias Jibran, and Hamza Afghani, whom the agency describes as Pakistani nationals affiliated with LeT.

However, the Dachigam encounter became a point of political and public controversy as Opposition parties questioned both the timing and evidentiary basis of the operation, noting that the encounter took place on the same day Parliament was debating the Pahalgam attack during the monsoon session. Critics alleged that the announcement of the killings coinciding with the debate raised questions about whether the operation was being presented to Parliament as a demonstration of swift accountability.

Opposition leaders also sought greater transparency regarding the identification of the three slain men, arguing that while the government and investigating agencies asserted their Pakistani nationality and involvement in the Pahalgam attack, forensic and corroborative material establishing these claims was not made public. Civil liberties groups have similarly called for independent verification of identities, cautioning against reliance solely on official assertions.

The government has rejected these allegations, maintaining that the encounter was based on actionable intelligence and that evidence supporting the identities and roles of the militants had been placed before the court.

Today's chargesheet also includes Parvaiz Ahmad and Bashir Ahmad Jothar, who were arrested by the NIA on 22 June for allegedly harbouring the attackers. During interrogation, the two are said to have disclosed the identities of the three armed militants and confirmed their alleged links to the proscribed LeT outfit.

The NIA said its findings were based on a scientific and multi-layered investigation, including digital evidence, forensic inputs and on-ground intelligence, which it claims traced the conspiracy back to Pakistan.

With the filing of the chargesheet, the case now moves into the trial stage. Even as the agency projects the document as a comprehensive legal consolidation of its probe, the Dachigam encounter and its parliamentary timing are likely to remain under scrutiny as proceedings continue, both inside the courtroom and in the political arena.

With PTI inputs