The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is questioning two terrorists lodged in a Jammu jail in connection with the 2023 Rajouri attack, as the probe into the Pahalgam attack intensifies.
Mushtaq and Nisar, who have been in jail since April 2023 over their role in the terror attack on civilians in Rajouri district, followed by an IED blast. Seven people, including two children, were killed and several others injured in the attacks.
Both are being questioned over their suspected role in the April 22 Pahalgam attack, in which 26 civilians were killed.
The NIA formally took over the Pahalgam terror attack probe, registering a case in Jammu on April 27. Several teams of the agency began searching for evidence and questioning eyewitnesses, including relatives of victims, to uncover the terror conspiracy. NIA teams have recorded accounts from victims’ family members in Maharashtra, Odisha and West Bengal, among other states.
Initial investigations into the attack indicated that the number of terrorists involved could range from five to seven. The attackers were also aided by at least two local militants who received training in Pakistan.
After The Resistance Front, an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), took responsibility for the attack, India announced a string of measures against Pakistan over their alleged state-sponsored terror. The Indus-Waters Treat was suspended, Wagah-Attari border post was closed, air space was closed for Pakistan-owned and operated airplanes, social media accounts of Pakistani celebrities and news outlets were blocked and revoked visas issued to nationals of the neighbouring country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi too assured “full operational freedom” to the Indian Armed Forces to choose the “mode, targets, and timing” of India’s response, while vowing to deliver a “crushing blow” to terror.
The post-to-post small arms firing between India and Pakistani troops continued in different sectors along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir for the ninth consecutive night on Friday.