Pakistan IDs, biometrics, chocolates: Three terrorists killed in Operation Mahadev were Lashkar operatives behind Pahalgam attack; officials say 'no local was involved'

NEW DELHI: Security agencies on Monday said they have clear proof, including Pakistani government documents, biometric data, and Karachi-made chocolates , confirming that the three terrorists killed after the Pahalgam attack were Pakistani nationals.

The three were senior Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives killed in an encounter in Dachigam forest near Srinagar on July 28 during Operation Mahadev . They had been hiding there since the April 22 attack in Pahalgam’s Baisaran meadow, which claimed 26 lives. Officials confirmed that "no local was among these terrorists", as PTI reported.

The evidence includes biometric data from Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), voter ID slips, satellite phone logs, and GPS points matching eyewitness accounts.

Two Kashmiri men arrested for helping them also confirmed their role in the attack. A senior official said, "For the first time, we have government-issued Pakistani documents in hand that nail the nationality of the Pahalgam attackers beyond doubt."

The terrorists were identified as Suleman Shah alias 'Faizal Jatt' -- "an A++ category terrorist, mastermind and lead shooter"; 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."

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From Shah and Hamza’s pockets, forces recovered laminated voter slips issued by Pakistan’s Election Commission, linked to electoral rolls in Lahore (NA-125) and Gujranwala (NA-79).

A damaged satellite phone’s micro-SD card contained NADRA biometric records -- fingerprints, facial templates, and family trees, confirming their citizenship and home addresses in Changa Manga (Kasur district) and Koiyan village near Rawalakot in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Other items included wrappers of 'CandyLand' and 'ChocoMax' chocolates, traced to a May 2024 consignment shipped to Muzaffarabad, PoK. Forensic tests confirmed that AK-103 rifles seized from them were the same weapons used in the attack, and DNA from Pahalgam matched the bodies.

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Officials said the terrorists crossed the Line of Control via north Kashmir’s Gurez sector in May 2022. Two helpers, Parvaiz and Bashir Ahmad Jothar, sheltered them overnight before they trekked to Baisaran to carry out the attack. GPS data from a seized device matched firing positions described by eyewitnesses.

Satellite phone records showed nightly contact with handlers in Pakistan. Voice analysis confirmed LeT’s south-Kashmir chief Sajid Saifullah Jatt as the main handler. They also cited footage showing LeT Rawalakot chief Rizwan Anees visiting the attackers’ families on July 29 to organise "Ghaibana Namaz-e-Janaza" (funeral prayers in absentia).

Authorities say this evidence will be part of India’s dossier proving Pakistan’s direct role in the deadly Pahalgam attack.