By Ankit K
- Beyond denial: Why Pahalgam attack leaves no doubt about Pakistan’s hand in Kashmir terrorism
On April 22, a peaceful spring day in the lush, tourist-frequented Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, was shattered by a sudden burst of violence.
Armed terrorists ambushed a group of civilians — mostly tourists, killing 26 in one of the deadliest terror strikes in the region in recent years.
In the immediate aftermath, speculation began swirling around the identity and origin of the attackers.
Today, over three months later, the fog of doubt has lifted.
Multiple layers of hard evidence — biometric data, digital forensics, official Pakistani documents, satellite intercepts, and intercepted calls — leave no room for ambiguity: the perpetrators were Pakistani nationals, trained and dispatched by Pakistan-based terror groups with the active complicity of state elements.
A trail of evidence from ground zero
In the initial days after the attack, Indian intelligence agencies launched a multi-agency investigation into the planning, execution, and escape route of the attackers.
What began as a field-level forensic analysis of the crime scene quickly snowballed into a far-reaching web of irrefutable evidence that spanned across the Line of Control (LoC).
How Terrorists Were Tracked
According to government officials, the wireless sets used by the terrorists, with a range of 20 to 25 km, required a clear line of sight and a unique frequency for communication between two devices.
Although the calls could not be intercepted, security forces, aided by a direction finder, detected the signals multiple times in the forested region — the first such signal was picked up on May 22. In response, security forces cordoned off the Dachigam forests from all directions and initiated a combing operation.
Government officials said every time a signal was detected, the corresponding area was thoroughly searched.
Suspected hideouts were systematically cleared, and on July 22, using a combination of technical and human intelligence, the location of three terrorists was pinpointed, prompting the planning of a decisive operation.
On July 28, during a combing operation in the dense Harwan forest range — a thickly wooded area northeast of Srinagar — three terrorists were neutralised in Operation Mahadev, a high-risk joint operation led by the Indian Army.
Subsequent identification revealed them to be the very men responsible for the Pahalgam massacre.
On their bodies, authorities recovered voter registration slips from Lahore and Gujranwala — both located in Pakistan, National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA)-linked IDs and biometrics matching Pakistani records, and GPS devices and digital maps with saved coordinates tracing their route from the Line of Control to the attack site and then back toward a hideout.
All three terrorists were later conclusively identified as Pakistani nationals through biometric verification, which included fingerprints and iris scans matched against intelligence archives maintained by Indian and international counter-terrorism bodies.
Intercepted communications seal the case
Perhaps the most damning evidence was the interception of phone calls from one of the attackers to his handler across the border — a voice later matched with Sajid Saifullah Jatt, a known Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its offshoot outfit The Resistance Front (TRF) commander operating out of Rawalpindi.
The calls, made on a satellite phone, were tracked via the Inmarsat-4 F1 network.
This device was recovered intact during Operation Mahadev and provided key timestamps, GPS data, and voice logs that placed the trio at the exact location of the attack on April 22.
Intelligence agencies decrypted these call logs.
The conversations revealed real-time updates from the ground during the attack and detailed instructions from across the border — a chilling reminder that the massacre was not a rogue strike but part of a meticulously coordinated terror operation.
Tactical planning: Pakistani signatures everywhere
Further scrutiny of the attackers’ route revealed a familiar pattern often associated with Pakistan-trained infiltrators.
According to intelligence dossiers, the three Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists — Suleman, also known as Faizal Jatt; Hamza Afghani; and Zibran — infiltrated India from Pakistan approximately three years ago.
Last year, they divided into two separate groups — one led by Suleman and the other by another Pakistani terrorist identified as Musa — and reportedly moved across Bandipora, Pulwama, and eventually Anantnag district during this period using seasonal shelters and overground worker networks.
This long-dormancy strategy, involving deep concealment and gradual acclimatisation, mirrors tactics used in previous high-profile attacks.
In each case, operatives remained off the radar for months before launching a spectacular, high-casualty attack.
This strategy also serves a dual purpose: it provides plausible deniability for Pakistan and complicates the Indian counter-insurgency response by masking the attackers as local elements.
However, in the Pahalgam case, that smokescreen failed.
No local involvement — A calculated secrecy
In a rare but critical revelation, security officials confirmed that no Kashmiri locals were involved in the planning or execution of the Pahalgam attack.
However, two locals — Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad — were arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on June 22 for allegedly harbouring the Pakistani terrorists.
The two were accused of providing food, shelter and logistical support to the terrorists,
In this case, investigators believe the isolation of local networks was a strategic choice — likely to minimise leaks and maintain operational secrecy, a method often reserved for Pakistan’s most sensitive cross-border terror missions.
This insight has prompted Indian authorities to revisit Pakistan’s terror playbook.
With Lashkar and Jaish-e-Mohammed often acting as proxies for state intelligence agencies, their actions — especially those that bypass local support — signal greater direct oversight and orchestration by the Pakistani military-intelligence establishment.
Diplomatic fallout and international response
India has used the findings of the Pahalgam investigation to mount a comprehensive diplomatic offensive.
India will likely share high-level dossiers detailing the evidence trail with irrefutable evidence with major powers.
While some Western partners, especially in the EU, expressed strong condemnation of the attack, others have remained diplomatically cautious, given ongoing geopolitical complexities involving Afghanistan, China, and regional trade corridors.
Yet, what makes the Pahalgam dossier more compelling than past submissions is its forensic precision.
The sheer volume of cross-verified data — from biometric confirmations and intercepted audio to satellite tracking and ballistics — leaves little room for plausible deniability.
The broader pattern: A systemic campaign
The Pahalgam attack is not an isolated event. It fits within a broader pattern of Pakistan-backed terrorism that has attempted to reassert relevance in Kashmir following a significant decline in local recruitment and separatist sentiment since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.
With militant numbers dwindling and local resistance fragmenting, Pakistan seems to have doubled down on a proxy war revival, relying on foreign cadres trained across the border and air-dropped into India through treacherous mountain routes.
The targeting of civilian areas like Baisaran — known for its tourism potential — signals an attempt to derail economic normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir.
A moment of strategic clarity
The events in Pahalgam have pulled back the curtain on the operational apparatus that continues to sustain terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
It is no longer a question of attribution but one of international accountability.
The Pakistani state’s direct or indirect support — through its army, intelligence agencies, terror training camps, and ideological indoctrination — is no longer a matter of suspicion. It is now a matter of documented fact.
Beyond tactics and responses, the Pahalgam attack serves as a grim reminder of the enduring challenge posed by state-sponsored terrorism — and the cost of global silence.
Ankit2841@protonmail.com
Asst Professor in International Relations, National Defence University , Gujarat, India
The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the organization’s.