Ex-Pak para commando among attackers: Probe
The interrogation of an overground worker (OGW) from Kashmir has revealed that one of the two Pakistani terrorists involved in the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam was a former para commando of the Pakistan army, sources in the security establishment said.
The suspect, identified as Hashim Musa, is believed to have been dismissed from Pakistan’s elite Para Forces before joining the banned terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). Intelligence inputs suggested that Musa infiltrated into India in September 2023 and had been operating primarily in Budgam district, near Srinagar.
Security officials suspect Musa’s dismissal might have been orchestrated by Pakistan’s Special Services Group (SSG) as part of a larger strategy to strengthen the LeT’s operations in Kashmir.
“Musa is a highly trained operative with expertise in unconventional warfare, hand-to-hand combat, navigation and survival tactics,” a senior security official said.
Investigators have linked Musa to at least three terror attacks in 2024. Officials said his role in the Pahalgam incident follows a pattern observed in earlier attacks believed to involve Pakistan army-trained terrorists. Similar operational methods and support structures were reported during the October 2024 attacks in which six civilians, a doctor, two Indian Army personnel and two porters were killed.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has confirmed that a local support network of OGWs played a critical role in the Pahalgam attack, helping arrange shelter, logistics, and possibly the transportation of weapons used by the attackers.
The sources said the revelations further underscore the involvement of Pakistan-based elements, including its military and intelligence apparatus, in cross-border terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
