In a significant breakthrough in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday informed Parliament that three Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists responsible for the massacre were gunned down in a security operation near Srinagar.
The slain militants — identified as Suleiman, a top Lashkar commander, along with Afghan and Jibran — were killed in Dachigam on Monday following a two-month-long intelligence-led mission, codenamed Operation Mahadev.
The trio had orchestrated the brutal killing of 25 tourists and a local pony operator in Baisaran Valley, Pahalgam. Their identities were confirmed by locals Parvaiz and Bashir Jothar, who allegedly provided them shelter, Shah stated.
“Security forces — including the Indian Army, CRPF, and Jammu & Kashmir Police — successfully neutralized the perpetrators behind the Pahalgam killings,” said Shah. “This mission was part of a broader counter-terror strategy, following the earlier Operation Sindoor, in which their handlers were eliminated.”
Shah revealed that intelligence inputs began surfacing on May 22, when the Intelligence Bureau (IB) picked up human intelligence pointing to the presence of the trio in the Dachigam region. The security agencies intercepted encrypted signals from a Chinese communication system, which helped pinpoint the exact hideout of the terrorists by July 22.
The final assault was carried out by elite Army commandos from 4 Para, supported by the J&K Police and CRPF. The encounter resulted in the recovery of one M9 carbine and two AK-47 rifles, later confirmed through ballistic analysis to be the weapons used in the Pahalgam killings.
Additional evidence, including two Pakistani voter ID cards and Pakistani-manufactured chocolate packets, was found on the terrorists, further affirming their foreign origin.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has been probing the case, conducted over 1,000 interrogations lasting nearly 3,000 hours. Crucially, Shah said that family members of the accused — specifically the mother of Bashir and Parvaiz — positively identified the bodies of the slain terrorists.
On the night of the operation, forensic teams confirmed the ballistic match of the weapons used, and by 4 a.m. on Tuesday, the final confirmation was received, allowing Shah to brief Parliament.
“This operation demonstrates India’s resolve to hold accountable those who attack innocents on our soil. Our agencies worked in synergy with precision, coordination, and patience,” Shah concluded.
