The National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) chargesheet on the April Pahalgam terror attack represents the most comprehensive official account yet of how the assault was allegedly planned, directed, and executed from Pakistan.
Filed before a special NIA court in Jammu on Monday, the 1,597-page document brings together operational details, material evidence, accused profiles, and statutory provisions to argue that the killing of 25 tourists and one local civilian was the outcome of a sustained, cross-border terror conspiracy.
The agency has chargesheeted seven accused in total, including Pakistan-based terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its proxy
The Resistance Front (TRF), while also invoking charges related to waging war against India.
According to the NIA, the attack involved religion-based targeted killings carried out by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists
at the Baisaran meadows in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
The chargesheet consolidates nearly eight months of investigation, mapping the alleged chain of command from senior terror leaders operating in Pakistan to the gunmen who carried out the killings on the ground in Jammu and Kashmir.
What does the chargesheet include?
The chargesheet names both individuals and terrorist organisations as accused.
The NIA stated that
seven accused have been chargesheeted, comprising Pakistani terror handlers, three Pakistani terrorists who physically carried out the attack, the banned LeT and TRF as organisations, and two local residents accused of providing shelter and logistical assistance.
According to the agency, the case has been registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Arms Act, 1959, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Penal sections dealing with waging war against India have also been applied.
The chargesheet documents the conspiracy, assigns specific roles to each accused, and lists supporting evidence recovered during the investigation. It also states that further investigation into the matter is continuing.
Who does the chargesheet accuse?
The chargesheet names Pakistan-based
Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and TRF head Habibullah Malik, also known as Sajid Jatt, as being involved in the planning and execution of the attack.
Sajid Jatt, also identified as Saifullah Sajid Jutt and known by the alias ‘Langda’, has been described as the key mastermind behind the operation.
The NIA has named him as an accused in the chargesheet, identifying him as a senior operational commander of LeT who oversees TRF activities in Kashmir.
Sources from intelligence agencies cited in the investigation state that Sajid Jatt operates from Islamabad and maintains close links with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
According to the chargesheet, the attack was part of a joint ISI-LeT conspiracy, with
instructions allegedly issued to deploy only Pakistani terrorists for the operation.
The aim, investigators state, was to limit the involvement of local Kashmiris to reduce the risk of exposure and maintain operational secrecy.
The NIA has recorded that Sajid Jatt plays a central role in recruitment, terror financing, infiltration of terrorists into India, and the management of TRF’s digital outreach in the Kashmir region.
What did it say the about the execution of the attack?
The terror attack took place on April 22 earlier this year, at
the Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam, a popular tourist destination. According to the chargesheet, the assault resulted in the deaths of 25 tourists and one local civilian. Several others were injured.
The NIA has stated that
the killings were carried out on religious lines and were intended to create fear among civilians while sending a broader message through a high-impact attack in a heavily frequented area.
The agency has underlined that the selection of the target and the manner of execution were consistent with the objectives outlined by the handlers who planned the operation from Pakistan.
Who were the attackers?
The chargesheet identifies three Pakistani nationals as the terrorists who carried out the killings: Faisal Jatt, also known as
Suleman Shah; Habeeb Tahir, alias Jibran; and Hamza Afghani.
All three were killed by Indian security forces during
Operation Mahadev at Dachigam, near Srinagar, on July 29. The encounter took place in a forested area on the outskirts of the city.
The NIA has chargesheeted the three attackers posthumously, detailing their roles in the Pahalgam attack and their links to LeT and TRF. The document notes that they were Pakistani nationals who had infiltrated into Indian territory to carry out the operation.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha in July, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had
stated that the three terrorists killed in the Dachigam forest area were the same individuals involved in the Pahalgam attack.
He identified them as Suleiman alias Faisal Jatt, Afghan and Jibran, and said they had all come from Pakistan.
What evidence links attackers to Pakistan?
One of the key elements cited in the chargesheet is the recovery of two Android mobile phones from the site of the Dachigam encounter. According to sources familiar with the investigation, these devices constitute crucial evidence establishing the Pakistani origin of the attackers.
The NIA has confirmed that the phones were “bought in Pakistan”, and forensic analysis linked the devices to the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack.
In addition to electronic devices, the chargesheet refers to articles recovered from terrorist hideouts following Operation Mahadev. These include identification documents, M4 assault rifles, chocolates, and other belongings.
Which terror organisations are accused?
A significant development in the case is the decision to chargesheet Lashkar-e-Taiba and
The Resistance Front as legal entities.
This reportedly marks the first time that LeT has been chargesheeted as a legal entity.
Earlier chargesheets in terror cases involving LeT, including the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, had named senior leaders such as Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and Sajid Jatt, but not the organisation itself as an accused.
The NIA has pointed out that there are precedents of unlawful associations being chargesheeted, citing cases involving the Popular Front of India.
“The chargesheet, which details Pakistan’s conspiracy, roles of the accused and supporting evidence in the case, has charged the banned LeT/TRF as a legal entity for its role in planning, facilitating and executing the Pahalgam attack,” NIA said.
What do we know about Sajid Jatt?
The NIA chargesheet provides detailed background on Sajid Jatt, describing him as the main handler and operational controller behind the Pahalgam attack.
Born on September 3, 1982, in Kasur district of Pakistan’s Punjab province, Jatt was active in Kashmir during the early 2000s before returning to Pakistan in 2005.
He currently leads TRF and LeT operations in Kashmir and has been listed as an individual “terrorist” under the UAPA. The NIA has announced a reward of Rs. 10 lakh for information leading to his arrest.
According to security agencies, Sajid Jatt is suspected to be behind several high-profile terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
These include the 2025 Pahalgam attack, the 2024 Reasi attack on a bus carrying pilgrims that killed nine people, earlier assaults on Indian Army personnel such as the 2013 Hyderpora attack in Srinagar, and the 2002 killing of a station house officer in Budgam.
The chargesheet also links him to the 2023 Bhata Dhurian attack in Poonch, in which five Indian soldiers were killed.
Was there a role of local facilitators?
While emphasising that the attackers were Pakistani nationals, the NIA has also chargesheeted two local residents for assisting the terrorists.
Parvaiz Ahmad and Bashir Ahmad Jothar were arrested on June 22, 2025, and have been accused of harbouring the attackers.
Both have been challaned under Section 19 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and are currently in judicial custody.
According to the NIA, interrogation of the two accused led to disclosures about the identities of the armed terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack. The agency has stated that they confirmed the attackers were Pakistani nationals affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Sources have previously indicated that Parvaiz Ahmad and Bashir Ahmad Jothar were paid Rs. 3,000 by the terrorists for providing assistance.
What next?
The chargesheet records that the investigation traced the conspiracy to Pakistan, which it describes as having been “unabatedly sponsoring terrorism against India”.
The NIA has emphasised that the Pahalgam case forms part of a broader pattern of cross-border terror activity and has documented what it sees as continuity in
methods across multiple attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
The NIA has clarified that its investigation is ongoing. Officials have indicated that additional evidence, financial trails, or further links could emerge as the probe continues.
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With inputs from agencies
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