Confirmed! Documents, biometric data reveal Pakistani nationality of slain Pahalgam terrorists after Op Mahadev
As per the evidence collected, none of the slain terrorists were locals, confirmed officials, reported PTI.
The documents collected by the security agencies which helped officials confirm the Pakistani nationality of the terrorists include: biometric records of Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), voter identity slips issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan
digital satellite phone data, including logs and GPS waypoints
Not just the voter slips and other documents, personal items were also discovered that offered more clues to their identities — including candy wrappers from 'CandyLand' and 'ChocoMax', both popular Pakistani brands made in Karachi.
Officials also said that the post-encounter investigation, including ballistics weapon-to-cartridge match and statements of two detained Kashmiri helpers, further corroborated the terrorists' involvement in the Pahalgam attack.
The slain terrorists were identified as Suleman Shah alias "Faizal Jatt", an A category terrorist, mastermind and lead shooter; his close associate Abu Hamza alias 'Afghan', an A-grade commander and the second gunman; and Yasir alias 'Jibran', also an A-grade commander and the third gunman.
All the three slain terrorists had their addresses in Kasur distirct's Changa Manga and Koiyan village near Rawalakot, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The officials said the NADRA-linked Smart-ID chips – a micro-SD recovered from a damaged sat-phone contained the NADRA biometric records (fingerprints, facial template, family tree) of all three men — traced their addresses to those regions.
While speaking at the Lok Sabha last week, Home Minister Amit Shah said that Operation Mahadev involved the questioning of around 1055 individuals within a span of over three hours.
"Based on the inputs gathered, composite sketches were prepared. Subsequently, on June 22, two individuals — Bashir and Parvez — were identified as those who had harboured the terrorists,' said Shah.
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