NIA to File Chargesheet in Pahalgam Terror Attack Case, Names Lashkar Operatives and Local Facilitators

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is set to file its chargesheet on Monday in connection with the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, marking a significant milestone in the investigation into the incident in Jammu and Kashmir, sources familiar with the probe said.

According to officials, the chargesheet will formally name three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)-linked terrorists who were neutralised during the counter-terror operation codenamed Operation Mahadev. Investigators are expected to assert that the Pahalgam attack was not an isolated act of violence but part of a broader, coordinated terror strategy orchestrated by Lashkar-e-Taiba in the region.

Sources said the NIA has concluded that two of the slain terrorists received active assistance from specific local individuals belonging to families from the Gujjar–Bakkarwal community. The agency has emphasised that its findings relate to particular individuals and do not reflect on the community as a whole. These local facilitators allegedly provided temporary shelter, logistical support and critical on-ground assistance, enabling the terrorists to evade security forces and navigate forested terrain ahead of the attack.

The third accused likely to be named in the chargesheet is Sajid Jatt, identified by investigators as an active Lashkar-e-Taiba operative working under the direction of cross-border handlers. According to sources, Sajid Jatt played a central role in coordinating the terror module, maintaining communication with handlers across the border and ensuring operational support for the attackers.

The chargesheet is expected to detail how local support networks formed a crucial link in the terror conspiracy, facilitating the arrangement of hideouts, movement routes and sustenance for the terrorists prior to the attack. Investigators have relied on digital forensics, call detail records, electronic devices recovered during operations and corroborative on-ground evidence to establish the conspiracy and the provision of material support, sources said.

The NIA has invoked stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), underlining the seriousness of the charges and reinforcing the agency’s assessment that the attack was part of Lashkar-e-Taiba’s wider campaign to destabilise Jammu and Kashmir.

Officials said Operation Mahadev not only led to the elimination of those directly involved in the Pahalgam attack but also helped expose the broader terror ecosystem operating in the region — encompassing cross-border handlers, local facilitators and logistical networks. The agency believes the chargesheet will significantly strengthen future prosecutions by clearly mapping the terror network and its support structures.