On 6th July (Monday), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a supplementary charge sheet against Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder and chief Hafiz (Hafeez) Muhammad Saeed and its proxy The Resistance Front (TRF) in the Pahalgam terror attack case. 26 Hindu tourists were killed in the attack by Pakistan-sponsored jihadis on 22nd April of last year. The incident “involved religion-based targeted killings by the Pak-sponsored terrorists,” according to the agency’s conclusion.
The charge sheet has been submitted in a special NIA court in Jammu. The agency mentioned, “The accused has been charged under various sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. NIA has also invoked the penal section against the accused for waging war against India and hatching a conspiracy from across the border in the charge sheet.”
This charge sheet came out six months after the first charge sheet, documenting the sequence of events and plot by Pakistan-based groups, leaders and terrorists leading to the gruesome killing of the innocent Hindu men was presented. An NIA official informed, “The (supplementary) charge sheet, filed in continuation of the original 1,597-page charge sheet, provides details of Pakistan’s conspiracy, Hafeez Saeed’s role, and supporting evidence collected by NIA in the case through meticulous scientific investigation and on-ground examination.”
The LeT/TRF had been declared as the entity behind planning, facilitating and executing the terror strike in the first charge sheet. Notably, the group initially claimed responsibility for the attack but later claimed otherwise amid fierce pressure due to consistent opposition and condemnation. During its investigation, the NIA discovered that two posts associated with the TRF were connected to Pakistan. The first claimed responsibility while the second denied any involvement following international outcry and UN Security Council condemnation.
According to the NIA, the investigations are working to expose Pakistan’s full-scale conspiracy to actively fund terrorists on Indian territory. “NIA continues to probe the case to unravel the complete conspiracy by Pakistan, which has been actively sponsoring terrorism on Indian soil from across the border,” it conveyed.
The three Pakistani terrorists who killed the tourists, Faisal Jat,t also known as Suleman, Habeeb Tahir alias Jibran Bhai and Hamza Afghani, were named in the NIA’s initial charge sheet. All three were neutralised by security forces. It also featured the name of top Lashkar handler Sajid Jatt. The charge sheet identified two local ponywallahs, Bashir Ahmad Jothatd and Parvaiz Ahmad, who were apprehended in June of last year for helping the terrorists with food supplies and logistics,s along with TRF leader Sajid Saifullah Jatt, also known as Langda.
The First Information Report (FIR) was launched at Pahalgam Police Station in the Anantnag district. The Ministry of Home Affairs then forwarded the case to the NIA following an initial probe by the Jammu and Kashmir Police. India also initiated “Operation Sindoor” to dismantle Pakistan’s terror infrastructure following the attack.
