(Image source from: x.com/ani_digital)
Intelligence officials have disclosed that the lethal terrorist strike in Pahalgam was a meticulously orchestrated operation carried out by foreign militants linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba. It is believed that these operatives, who speak Punjabi and hail from South Punjab in Pakistan, entered Jammu and Kashmir in significant numbers earlier this year. Reports indicate that around 150 of these foreign terrorists are currently dispersed throughout various locations in the Union Territory, remaining hidden and awaiting further orders. Authorities noted that a thorough reconnaissance of the area was conducted in a methodical fashion, with calculated entry and exit timings being meticulously reviewed, demonstrating extensive preparation prior to the assault.
Sources characterized this incident as indicative of a new paradigm of warfare, where militants carry out attacks, execute their victims, and then retreat into the mountainous regions for extended periods. Notably, the timing of this assault appears to have been a strategic choice. With the Amarnath Yatra not yet underway and increasing tourist activity from southern and western Indian states, militants targeted a time when security presence was lower but visibility remained high. Intelligence analysts believe that the attack aimed to send a clear message to local Kashmiris: align with the insurgent groups or suffer economic repercussions, especially concerning tourism. There were reports of significant hotel cancellations occurring within just 18 hours following the attack.
In the Baisaran Valley, twenty-six tourists from various parts of the country were brutally shot after the assailants separated male family members from their relatives, demanding that they recite the Kalma or disclose their names to verify their religion. Eyewitnesses reported that the terrorists arrived at the popular tourist destination around 2:20 p.m. and subsequently divided into smaller groups to cover a distance of 400 meters. These militants approached each cluster of visitors, questioning them about their faith and origins, then forcibly isolating the men. After affirming the identities of their targets, they executed them with AK-47 rifles from very close range. Those who tried to mislead the assailants regarding their identities were subjected to verification before being killed.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a splinter group of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) co-founded by Hafiz Saeed, has claimed responsibility for this horrific attack. Signs of TRF's emergence as a militant organization became apparent when the Jammu and Kashmir police dismantled a network of overground workers (OGWs) in Sopore and Kupwara. Those apprehended disclosed that they were actively "recruiting youth for the new outfit."
