'Pakistani Voter ID, Biometrics, Chocolates': 3 Terrorists Gunned Down In Operation Mahadev Were Lashkar Operatives Behind Pahalgam Attack, Say Officials

The security agencies said on Monday that items recovered from the encounter site, where three terrorists were killed on 28 July, serve as clear proof that the slain terrorists had come from Pakistan. The agencies had recovered Pakistani government documents, biometric data, and Karachi-made chocolates after the encounter.

According to reports, the terrorists killed during Operation Mahadev were operatives of Lashkar-e-Taiba, and they had been hiding in Dachigam forest near Srinagar since the 22 April attack in Pahalgam's Baisaran meadow. Twenty-five Indians, mostly tourists, and one foreign national were killed in the gruesome attack.

According to a PTI report, the officials have confirmed that none of the terrorists killed in Operation Mahadev was local.

The evidence backing the investigative agencies' claim includes biometric data from Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), voter ID slips, satellite phone logs, and GPS points matching eyewitness accounts.

According to reports, two Kashmiris have confessed to their roles in helping the terrorists.

A high-ranking official stated that authorities now possess official Pakistani documentation that definitively establishes the Pakistani nationality of those responsible for the Pahalgam attack.

The attackers were identified as, Suleman Shah (known as 'Faizal Jatt'), described as a top-tier terrorist leader and primary shooter; Abu Hamza (called 'Afghan'), characterised as a senior commander and second gunman; and Yasir (alias 'Jibran'), also a senior commander serving as the third shooter.

Security forces found laminated voting documents from Pakistan's Election Commission on Shah and Hamza, connected to voter lists in Lahore and Gujranwala constituencies. A damaged satellite phone contained a micro-SD card with Pakistani national database records including biometric data, facial recognition templates, and family information, verifying their citizenship and residential addresses in Kasur district and a village near Rawalakot in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

Additional evidence included chocolate wrappers from brands traced to a shipment sent to Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in May 2024. Forensic analysis confirmed the recovered AK-103 rifles were the weapons used in the assault, and DNA evidence from the attack site matched the deceased attackers.

According to officials, the terrorists entered through the Gurez sector in north Kashmir in May 2022. Two local facilitators provided them overnight shelter before they proceeded to Baisaran for the attack. GPS information from captured equipment corresponded with firing locations described by witnesses.

Satellite communication records revealed regular nighttime contact with Pakistani handlers. Voice pattern analysis identified a Lashkar-e-Taiba commander in south Kashmir as the primary handler. Officials also referenced video evidence of a LeT leader from Rawalakot visiting the attackers' families in late July to conduct funeral prayers for the deceased.

This evidence will form part of India's official documentation demonstrating Pakistan's direct involvement Pahalgam attack, as per reports.