The security forces in Jammu and Kashmir have intensified their search for the terrorists behind the deadly Pahalgam attack and are now focused on 54 routes that begin from Baisaran, the valley where the terror attack left 26 people dead last month, sources told NDTV. Some of these routes go upwards towards dense forests and mountains, while others are connected to different parts of Kashmir, they said.
The Over Ground Workers (OGWs), who have been arrested for providing logistics to terrorists, have also been taken to the forests for the search operations. The terrorists are believed to be in hideouts in the forests, sources said.
The probe has so far found that three terrorists - two from Pakistan and one from Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag - had opened fire on tourists in Baisaran Valley, known as "mini Switzerland" for its rolling hills and verdant orchards, killing 25 Indian nationals and a Nepali citizen on April 22.
The police have released sketches of three terrorists suspected of being involved in the Pahalgam attack.
According to the notices made public by the police on X, the three suspects are: Hashim Musa alias Suleman and Ali Bhai alias Talha Bhai, both residents of Pakistan, and Adil Hussain Thoker, a native of Anantnag.
The attack in Baisaran meadow was one of the deadliest assaults on civilians in the region in recent years.
Photo Credit: REUTERS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India will "identify, track and punish" every terrorist and their "backers" who were behind the Pahalgam attack.
"We will pursue them to the ends of the earth," he told a public gathering on April 24.
India has hit Pakistan with a series of strict measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the over six-decade-old Indus Waters Treaty and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post.
