NIA to send court summons to Hafiz Saeed in Pahalgam terror attack case
The summons, directing Saeed to appear before the special NIA court in Jammu for trial, will be routed through the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
If Saeed does not appear despite the completion of the required legal process, the court may try him in his absence under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
The attack took place in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025. The case was initially registered by Pahalgam Police before the Union Home Ministry transferred the investigation to the NIA.
The National Investigation Agency court has already issued a non-bailable warrant against Saeed.
The Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba founder been accused of being one of the masterminds behind the April 2025 attack, in which 25 tourists - all Hindus - and another person were killed.
The law provides permits to a court to conduct an inquiry or trial and pronounce judgment against a proclaimed offender who has absconded to evade proceedings and has no immediate prospect of arrest.
Before initiating a trial in absentia, the court must complete several procedural requirements.
These include issuing two consecutive arrest warrants and publishing a notice directing the proclaimed offender to appear.
The trial cannot begin until 90 days have passed from the date on which charges were framed. If the accused is not represented, the state must provide an advocate for his defence.
HAFIZ SAEED NAMED IN SUPPLEMENTARY CHARGESHEET
The NIA named Saeed in a supplementary chargesheet filed in July, arraigning him in his individual capacity and as the head of the banned LeT and its proxy outfit, The Resistance Front.
The original chargesheet, filed on December 15, 2025, named seven accused, including alleged Pakistani handler Sajid Jatt and the banned LeT/TRF as a legal entity.
It also named three Pakistani terrorists — Faisal Jatt alias Suleman Shah, Habeeb Tahir alias Jibran and Hamza Afghani — who were killed by security forces during Operation Mahadev in Dachigam in July 2025.
Two local residents, Parvaiz Ahmad and Bashir Ahmad Jothad, were arrested on allegations of harbouring the terrorists.
The accused were charged under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Arms Act and the UAPA. The NIA invoked charges including waging war against India and alleged that the conspiracy had been directed from Pakistan.
Last year at a public function in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the first terrorist attack in Kashmir after Partition should have been dealt with decisively in 1947, as today's terrorism is a distorted continuation of that long-standing threat.
"And it was Sardar Patel's wish that until POK is taken back, the army should not stop. But Sardar Sahib’s words were not followed," the Prime Minister said.
He said: "And the bloodshed by these mujahideen has been continuing for the last 75 years.
What happened in Pahalgaon was just a distorted form of the same. ...The Indian Army has defeated Pakistan every time. Pakistan understood that it cannot win against India".
The Prime Minister said the terrorist activities against India are “not a proxy war” carried out by non-state actors, but “a well-planned war by Pakistan".
"Terrorism isn't proxy war, it is your war strategy. You are waging war on us," he said, referring to cross-border terrorism.
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