Pakistan Terrorist Who Heads Lashkar Offshoot Named Pahalgam Attack Mastermind

Pakistan's involvement in the Pahalgam terror attack has been exposed, with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) naming Sajid Saifullah Jutt, a Pakistani national, as the main conspirator behind the terror attack that killed 26 tourists on April 22.

Jutt, a resident of Pakistan's Kasoor, heads Lashkar-e-Taiba's (LeT) offshoot, The Resistance Front (TRF). The NIA announced a Rs 10 lakh reward for information leading to his capture and has designated him a proscribed terrorist under the UAPA.

A chargesheet was filed after eight months of proper investigation.

The other names in the chargesheet are three Pakistani terrorists - Suleimani Shah, Hamza Afghani and Jibran - who carried out the attack in Pahalgam and were killed during operation Mahadev in Dachigam area on July 28.

The chargesheet, filed in an NIA court in Jammu region, names six others, including local accomplices Bashir Ahmed Jothar, Parvez Ahmed Jothar, and Mohammad Yusuf Katari, who provided food and logistical support to the terrorists. The chargesheet includes names of three more.

Investigators found that Bashir and Parvez hosted Pahalgam killers in a hut in the Hill Park area on April 21 night. Mohammad Yousuf helped the terrorists behind the Pahalgam terror attack by navigating the forest belt in South Kashmir and guiding them to the attack site.

The NIA questioned over 1,000 people during its seven-month investigation, uncovering the LeT and TRF network involved in the attack.

According to the NIA, the LeT/TRF and the four aforementioned terrorists have been charged under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, the Arms Act, 1959, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.

"In its chargesheet, the NIA has also invoked penal provisions relating to waging war against the Government of India," a statement said.