3 terrorists behind Pahalgam attack killed in Op Mahadev: Amit Shah

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha that the three terrorists killed during Operation Mahadev on July 28 were involved in the Pahalgam terror attack.

During a debate on Operation Sindoor, Shah said the three slain terrorists — identified as Suleiman, Afghan and Jibran — were all top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives. “Suleiman, a key commander of the LeT, was directly involved in the Pahalgam and Gagangir attacks. There is substantial evidence to confirm this,” he said.

The Home Minister added that Afghan and Jibran were also senior figures in the LeT’s hierarchy. “I want to state clearly — the same terrorists who attacked and killed our civilians in Baisaran Valley have been eliminated,” he said.

Shah commended the Indian Army’s Para SF, CRPF personnel and Jammu and Kashmir Police for the successful joint operation. He also noted that individuals who previously supplied food to the terrorists — and were taken into custody — had identified them, further confirming their role in the Pahalgam massacre.

The operation's breakthrough coincided with the beginning of discussions in the Lok Sabha on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor, India’s larger campaign to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

According to officials, the trio, all Pakistani nationals, were killed in a joint operation by the Army, CRPF and J&K Police in the forested upper reaches of Dachigam National Park near Mahadev Peak in Srinagar’s Harwan area.

Security forces have since intensified anti-terror operations across Jammu and Kashmir, targeting militants, overground workers and sympathisers to dismantle the region’s terror ecosystem.
(With IANS inputs.)