26/11-style PAHALGAM ATTACK was masterminded by ISI, Lashkar-e-Taiba – no local involved | Here's what report REVEALED

The Pahalgam terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22 was planned and executed exclusively by the terrorists of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lashkar-e-Taiba, on the directions of Pakistan's political and military brass, as per a report by the Times of India (TOI). The news agency quoted sources who described the attack as a LeT-ISI project akin to the 26/11 Mumbai attack. They said the ISI gave specific directions to Pakistan-based Lashkar commander Sajid Jutt to deploy only "foreign terrorists" operating in J&K.

Jutt was directed to ensure minimal local involvement on a "need-to-know" basis. The report further claimed that the terrorist attack that killed 26 people on Indian soil was led by Sulaiman, a suspected former Pakistani special forces commando who had participated in training at LeT's Muridke hub in Pakistan's Punjab before crossing the LoC into the Jammu region in 2022.

Moreover, the satellite phone analysis revealed that Sulaiman was in Tral forest on April 15 - indicating he was in the vicinity of the attack site at Baisaran for almost a week before the attack. He was also involved in the 2023 Poonch attack in Jammu and Kashmir on an Army truck. Although J&K Police had suspected the role of Pakistani terrorists Hashim Musa and Ali Bhai, the probe has only confirmed Sulaiman's role till now. The report also said that the accused local - Adil Hussain Thoker - had no role in the attack.

On April 22, terrorists launched an open fire in Pahalgam at tourists in which 25 tourists and one local. After the attack, India-Pakistan relations soured even more, and the Indian government imposed a temporary ban on the Indus Waters Treaty against Pakistan and launched Operation Sindoor on May 7. India targeted nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).