Pahalgam Attack Mastermind Traced to Pakistan Based LeT Offshoot

Pakistan’s involvement in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 tourists, has been formally established by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), with investigators naming Sajid Saifullah Jutt, a Pakistani national, as the chief conspirator behind the massacre.

According to the NIA, Jutt, a resident of Kasoor in Pakistan, heads The Resistance Front (TRF) which is an offshoot of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

The agency has announced a reward of 10 lakh for information leading to his arrest and has designated him a proscribed terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The findings are part of a chargesheet filed after eight months of sustained investigation in an NIA court in the Jammu region. The chargesheet names four Pakistani terrorists, including Jutt, and outlines their roles in planning, executing, and facilitating the attack.

Three Pakistani terrorists, Suleimani Shah, Hamza Afghani, and Jibran, who carried out the Pahalgamattack, were later killed during Operation Mahadev in the Dachigam area on July 28.

The chargesheet also names six other accused, including local accomplices Bashir Ahmed Jothar, Parvez Ahmed Jothar, and Mohammad Yusuf Katari, who allegedly provided logistical support, shelter, and guidance to the terrorists.

Investigators revealed that Bashir and Parvez hosted the attackers in a hut in the Hill Park area on the night of April 21, a day before the attack. Katari is accused of guiding the terrorists through the forest belt of South Kashmir and leading them to the attack site.

The NIA said it examined over 1,000 individuals during its seven-month probe, uncovering an extensive LeT–TRF terror network operating across the border and within Jammu and Kashmir.

The accused have been charged under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita(BNS), 2023, the Arms Act, 1959, and the UAPA, 1967. The agency also invoked sections related to waging war against the Government of India, underscoring the gravity of the conspiracy.

Also Read: UNSC Links TRF to Pahalgam Attack; US Declares Group Terror Outfit