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Hindustan Times
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
JDF condemns Pahalgam terror attack, calls it crime against humanity
The Justice and Development Front (JDF), a political party informally established by Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI)-affiliated candidates in February, condemned the Pahalgam terror attack on Sunday saying killing innocents was a crime against humanity. The party said that within the parameters of justice, they stand with the nation in any action following the attack. Addressing a press conference, the party said that they join the nation in sorrow after the attack that killed 26 civilians, most of them tourists, in the Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam on April 22. President of JDF Shamim Ahmad Thokar said that they had scheduled a convention for the formal launch of the party on April 29 at SKICC but owing to the Pahalgam attack and the national mourning, the programme was cancelled. 'JDF condemns the heinous murders in Pahalgam. Tyranny against innocents is a crime against humanity, which is unacceptable,' he said. 'We will be standing with the nation on whatever action is taken, keeping in mind the parameters of justice,' he said. Jamaat, a politico-religious organisation which was banned by the central government in 2019 for their alleged links to militant outfits, had fielded some 10 candidates as independents in the elections last year in September-October including the prominent Sayyar Ahmad Reshi and Talat Majid in South Kashmir with no success on any seat. During the militancy which erupted in 1989, separatists and Jamaat would boycott elections and hold rallies against voting in J&K. In February, Thokar and Reshi and other members had announced the formation of the party at a convention in South Kashmir to give an 'informal introduction of JDF'. At the press conference, Thokar said that they are formally starting political activities from now on. 'We are starting our political activities from today. And our workers and members across Kashmir, we will be organising conventions and other political activities in the field,' he said. The party also launched its flag and party logo- 'scales of justice'. The participation of the JeI-backed candidates in assembly elections marked the organisation's return to electoral politics after 37 years. The party condemned the targeting of Kashmiri students outside the union territory.
Deccan Herald
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Deccan Herald
From classroom to carnage: Story of Pahalgam terror attack accused Adil Thokar
Thokar, whose name has now surfaced prominently in the probe led by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), is believed to be affiliated with the Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
India Today
27-04-2025
- India Today
Terrorists trekked 22 hours through rough terrain for Pahalgam attack: Sources
New details emerging from the investigation into the Pahalgam terror attack suggest that the terrorists who carried out the horrific assault on April 22, killing 26 people, trekked nearly 20 to 22 hours through difficult terrain from Kokernag forests to the scenic Baisaran valley to execute their deadly mobile phones - one belonging to a local resident and the other to a tourist - were snatched by the terrorists during the attack, sources said. Four attackers were involved in the carnage: three Pakistani terrorists and one local terrorist, Adil Thokar, sources who initially joined Hizbul Mujahideen in 2018 after getting radicalised, crossed over to Pakistan legally using valid documents, where he received battle-hardened training with the Lashkar-e-Taiba before returning to the Kashmir Valley in 2024. Since his return, Thokar is said to have been actively assisting Pakistani terrorists by providing logistics and acting as a guide through the region's treacherous terrain. Forensic analysis has confirmed that the terrorists used AK-47 and M4 assault rifles during the attack, with recovered cartridges providing crucial terrorists emerged from behind nearby shops, ordering victims to recite the Kalma before shooting four people dead at point-blank range, per sources. This sudden act of brutality triggered panic, with tourists running in all directions for safety. Simultaneously, the other two terrorists opened fire from near the zipline area, intensifying the a significant development, a key witness - a local photographer - has emerged in the case. Perched atop a tree during the attack, he managed to record critical footage capturing the sequence of events as they unfolded. His videos are now seen as crucial leads by investigators piecing together the full timeline of the the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has now formally begun the process of taking over the investigation following orders from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Teams from the anti-terror agency have been stationed at the attack site since Wednesday, intensifying their search for evidence under the supervision of senior are meticulously examining eyewitnesses to reconstruct the events and closely scrutinising the entry and exit points in the valley to understand the terrorists' modus by forensic experts, NIA officials are combing the entire Baisaran valley for clues to expose the terror conspiracy behind one of the deadliest attacks witnessed in Kashmir in recent InMust Watch
News18
27-04-2025
- News18
Baisaran Reels Videographer, Who Recorded Entire Pahalgam Attack, Is NIA's Key Witness
Last Updated: 'This local photographer ran for his life when firing began and perched himself on a tree. But he kept videographing the entire terror attack,' a senior official told News18 A local videographer, who filmed reels for tourists in Baisaran, has emerged as a key witness for the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which began its probe into the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, News18 has exclusively learnt. Officials revealed that the local photographer captured the entire terror attack as it unfolded. 'This local photographer ran for his life when firing began and perched himself on a tree to escape the bullets. But he kept videographing the event as it unfolded and recorded the entire terror attack," a senior official told CNN-News18. The NIA has questioned the videographer and is analysing the videos he shot to identify the terrorists and possible overground workers (OGWs) who may have assisted them. Initial investigations have indicated that four terrorists divided into two groups and fired from two sides of the meadow. According to eyewitness accounts, two gunmen were stationed near snack shops selling refreshments. 'Around 2:30 pm, two terrorists hiding behind the shops emerged. They first asked the non-locals snacking there for their religion. A few were asked to recite the kalma; those who couldn't were killed," the officer said. The NIA believes this was not indiscriminate firing, as initially suspected. 'They took specific aim at the head of each identified victim," agency officials said. Panic, according to survivors, erupted when the first two terrorists fatally shot four tourists in the head. The other two terrorists then emerged from the vicinity of the zip line and began firing at the fleeing crowd. PHONES SNATCHED The terrorists also reportedly seized two mobile phones, one belonging to a tourist and the other to a local. Agencies are tracking both phones, as they could provide crucial evidence regarding the terrorists' current location or movements. However, sources revealed that both devices have been switched off since the incident. The NIA has also recovered empty cartridges of AK-47 and M4 rifles. 'M4s have been used by Pakistani terrorists since the Afghan war ended, serving as further proof of who is behind this," an intelligence agency official commented. LOCAL TERRORIST IDENTIFIED Investigative teams believe that at least one of the four terrorists involved was a local, Adil Thokar. According to the JK police dossier, Thokar was radicalised and joined Hizbul Mujahideen in 2018. He allegedly crossed over to Pakistan on valid documents, leaving Hizbul Mujahideen to join Lashkar-e-Taiba. After training with Lashkar, he reportedly returned to the Valley in 2024. It is alleged that Thokar has since assisted Pakistani terrorists with logistics and even acted as a guide in other terror attacks.
The Hindu
25-04-2025
- The Hindu
Top LeT commander Altaf Lalli killed in Bandipor
A Lashkar-e-Taliba (LeT) terrorist associate was killed by the security forces during the ongoing encounter in the Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Friday (April 25, 2025). The terrorist associate has been identified as Altaf Lalli of the Lashkar-e-Taiba outfit. Intensified operations by police, Army and CRPF have led to a few encounters in south and north Kashmir over the last couple of days and the elimination Lalli in Bandipora district on Friday, officials said. A hideout was also busted in Kulgam the day before and dozens of suspected persons were detained, they added. Special teams of the NIA have started reaching out to eyewitnesses including tourists who survived the deadly attack by terrorists of the Pakistan-based LeT in south Kashmir's Pahalgam, officials said. Armed with the latest gadgets like Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and drones, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Army and paramilitary forces continued their massive operations to hunt down the terrorists in the dense jungles of the Pir Panjal range, overlooking Pahalgam and the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. Initial investigations into the audacious terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people on April 22, indicate that the number of terrorists involved could range from five to seven. They were aided by at least two local militants who received training in Pakistan, the officials said. Even though the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is yet to take over the case, its teams have started speaking to the survivors in search of clues which could help in pinning down the terrorists whose attack has sparked widespread outrage and spontaneous protests in the Valley— a never-seen-before development in the over three-decade-long history of terrorism in the region. According to the officials, based on the piecing together of the available evidence, the roles of prime suspect Aadil Thokar alias Aadil Guree of Bijbehara and Asif Sheikh of Tral have emerged. The officials believe that Thokar crossed over to Pakistan in 2018, where he underwent armed training with the banned LeT before returning to India to carry out attacks. The houses of the two terrorists were destroyed when explosives believed to be stored there went off, they said. Explosives were believed to have been found on the premises during a search operation, prompting the security forces to evacuate the occupants of the houses as well as neighbours to safety, the officials claimed. While Thokar, a resident of south Kashmir's Anantnag district, is one of the key accused in the Pahalgam attack, Sheikh, a resident of Tral in Pulwama district, is suspected to have been involved in the conspiracy of the attack. The family members of both Thokar and Sheikh have claimed that they are not aware of their whereabouts. The probe suggests that four terrorists lined up the tourists at the Baisaran meadow on Tuesday before firing at them from a point-blank range and at least one to three terrorists were strategically positioned to keep watch for any approaching security forces. The terrorists were carrying body cameras to record their barbaric act, the officials said, quoting eyewitnesses. At least six to seven pictures were shown to eyewitnesses and out of them, they identified Thokar as the terrorist who pulled the trigger during the attack. After the incident, the terrorists vanished into the thick pine tree jungles of Pir Panjal, the officials said. Security agencies have also released the sketches of three men suspected to be involved in the terror attack. The men, all Pakistanis, are Asif Fauji, Suleman Shah and Abu Talha, the officials said. Security forces are also on high alert after inputs suggested that terrorists are "actively planning" an attack on vulnerable railway infrastructure, Kashmiri Pandits and non-locals working in the Valley in the coming days, the officials said. A warning has also been issued that Pakistan's espionage agency ISI is planning to execute targeted attacks on Kashmir Pandits and police personnel in Srinagar and Ganderbal districts, they added. The officials said a massive anti-terrorist operation is also continuing inside the dense forests near the attack site with security agencies mobilising UAVs, drones and sniffer dogs to nab the perpetrators. There has been no contact with the fleeing terrorists so far, they said.
