Pahalgam terror attack: NIA arrests two for providing shelter, food to attackers

NEw new delhi: The subject investigating federal agency (NIA) has arrested 2 men for allegedly harbouring the three Pakistani terrorists involved in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and providing them with food and logistical support, NIA officials said on Sunday.Indian security forces are pursuing two theories about the whereabouts of the three terrorists who killed 26 tourists in Kashmir, with officials divided over whether the attackers have fled to Pakistan after an encounter in the Kishtwar area on May 22, or are hiding in the Tral area and not using any electronic communication.The two men arrested were identified as Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar from Pahalgam’s Batkote and Bashir Ahmad Jothar of Pahalgam’s Hill Park. This is the first arrest by the anti-terror probe agency, coming exactly two months after the attack, which escalated tensions between India and Pakistan.“In a major breakthrough in the Pahalgam terror attack case, the NIA has arrested two men for harbouring the terrorists who had carried out the horrendous attack that killed 26 innocent tourists and grievously injured 16 others,” a statement issued by the agency said.The duo has reportedly disclosed the identities of the three attackers and said that the three Pakistani nationals are affiliated with the proscribed terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the agency said.The NIA statement on Sunday said that the authorities have identified the suspected attackers as Hashim Musa, also known as Suleiman, and Ali Bhai, also called Talha Bhai — both Pakistani nationals — and local operative Adil Hussain Thokker. The government has offered rewards of ₹20 lakh for each suspect as the manhunt is underway.The NIA probe has revealed that Parvaiz and Bashir had knowingly harboured the three armed terrorists at a seasonal dhok (hut) at Hill Park before the attack. “The two men had provided food, shelter and logistical support to the terrorists, who had, on the fateful afternoon, selectively killed the tourists on the basis of their religious identity, making it one of the most gruesome terrorist attacks ever,” said the agency.They have been arrested under Section 19 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.The NIA had questioned hundreds of people over two months, including suspected collaborators, pony operators, vendors, and tourism workers. Investigators have also examined videos and photographs taken by families at Baisaran that day.Also Read: Pahalgam probe: In hunt for gunmen, 2 possibilities on radarThe Resistance Front, a proxy group for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba organisation, claimed responsibility for the attack. Indian agencies say the group is a front used by Pakistan to avoid international sanctions.As first reported by HT on April 24, intelligence agencies traced the attack’s digital communications to safe houses in Muzaffarabad and Karachi, establishing Pakistani involvement in what officials described as similar to the control room-operated 2008 Mumbai attacks.India responded with Operation Sindoor on May 7, bombing nine terrorist camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in pre-dawn strikes that killed at least 100 militants. The operation sparked four days of cross-border fighting involving fighter jets, missiles, and artillery. On the intervening night of May 9 and 10, the Indian Air Force struck targets at 13 Pakistani airbases and military installations before hostilities ended on May 10.