Lashkar handler behind Pahalgam carnage :::: NIA chargesheets seven accused, five suspects and two terror outfits - Pak-based Lashkar and The Resistance Front (TRF)

Lashkar handler behind Pahalgam carnage, TRF executed attack: NIA chargesheet

The NIA has chargesheeted seven accused, five suspects and two terror outfits - Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and The Resistance Front (TRF), in connection with the April 22, 2025 carnage that claimed 26 lives.

Three dead terrorists, and 2 locals named in Pahalgam chargesheet. 

Sajid Jatt operates from the LeT headquarters in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. 

He is not only the operational chief of the TRF, but is also responsible for recruitment, funding and infiltration in the Kashmir Valley.

The chargesheet, detailing Pakistan’s conspiracy, the roles of the accused and supporting evidence, has been filed against LeT and TRF “as a legal entity” for their role in planning, facilitating and executing the terror attack, the NIA said in a statement.

On April 22, 2025, Pakistani terrorists, in one of the deadliest attacks targeting tourists, killed 25 Hindu tourists from different parts of the country and one Nepalese citizen - also a Hindu.  

The other accused named in the 1,597-page chargesheet include Pakistani handler Sajid Jatt, besides three slain terrorists from the neighbouring country — Faisal Jatt alias Suleman Shah, Habeeb Tahir alias Jibran and Hamza Afghani. 

All three were killed by security forces during ‘Operation Mahadev’ in the Dachigam forests on the outskirts of Srinagar in July this year.

These five accused, along with LeT/TRF, have been charged under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Arms Act, 1959, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

Invoking penal provisions for waging war against India, the NIA has also chargesheeted two locals — Parvaiz Ahmad and Bashir Ahmad — arrested on June 22 this year for harbouring the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack.

On April 22, 2025, Pakistani terrorists, in one of the deadliest attacks targeting tourists, killed 25 tourists from different parts of the country. A local pony operator was also killed in the firing.

The attack led to Operation Sindoor, with India targeting nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7. In retaliation, Pakistan targeted civilian areas on the Indian side, with hostilities ending on May 10.  

Apart from that, two more suspects - Parvaiz Ahmad and Bashir Ahmad - who were arrested by the NIA on June 22 for allegedly harbouring the three terrorists, have also been chargesheeted.

During questioning, the two men had disclosed the identities of the three terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack and had also confirmed that they were Pakistani nationals affiliated to LeT.

Sajid Jatt is also known by several aliases, such as Saifullah, Numi, Numan, Langda, Ali Sajid, Usman Habib and Shani. He was declared an 'individual terrorist' under the UA(PA) provisions in October 2022.  

Sajid Jatt is also accused of providing logistical and operational support to hybrid terrorists. He is considered the most dangerous face of the terrorist network in Kashmir.

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