In a major breakthrough, Indian security forces have neutralized three top Pakistani terrorists—including the mastermind behind the deadly April 22 Pahalgam attack—during a high-intensity encounter in Jammu & Kashmir’s Dachigam National Park.
The operation was launched after Indian intelligence agencies intercepted a suspicious communication on July 11, near Dachigam, linking it to the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which killed 25 tourists and a local pony operator. The input set off an extensive multi-agency search and combing operation across the dense forests and rugged terrain of the region.
On the morning of July 28, a joint team of the 24 Rashtriya Rifles and 4 Para Commandos tracked down the suspects to the Harwan area of Dachigam. In the ensuing gunbattle, all three terrorists were killed.
One of them was Suleiman Shah, a senior Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative and the suspected main shooter and mastermind of the Pahalgam massacre. The other two, Abu Hamza and Yasir, are also believed to have participated in the attack. Official identification is ongoing. Security personnel recovered a cache of weapons and supplies from the hideout, including:
1 M4 carbine
2 AK-47 rifles
Several grenades
Ammunition and food rations
The discovery confirms that the group had been surviving in the wilderness for days, without assistance from locals.Electronic devices seized from the encounter site are now under analysis to trace the terrorists' movement, communication networks, and possible handlers. The investigation is being led by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is also interrogating Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad Jothar, previously arrested for allegedly providing logistical support before the Pahalgam attack.
The Resistance Front (TRF), widely seen as a proxy of LeT, had claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack. Indian agencies traced digital communications tied to the attackers to safehouses in Muzaffarabad and Karachi, pointing to direct Pakistani involvement.
This prompted India’s military retaliation under “Operation Sindoor”, which targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, leading to several days of cross-border hostilities in May 2025.
Preliminary intelligence and ongoing interrogations point to Shah’s central role. Key findings include:
Shah coordinated the logistics of the attack and was identified via intercepted communications.
Surviving attackers and local handlers described a figure matching Shah’s profile.
Seized electronic devices may contain visual, GPS, and message-based evidence placing him at the center of the operation.
His identity is being forensically verified and corroborated by the arrested Jothar brothers.