Pakistani link found in Pahalgam attack; digital trail leads to Muzaffarabad, Karachi safehouses

Indian intelligence agencies have traced the digital footprints of the Pahalgam attackers to safehouses in Muzaffarabad and Karachi, confirming Pakistan’s involvement in the attack and pointing to the use of a remote control-room, similar to the one used in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, according to senior officials directly involved in the investigation.

On Tuesday, at least 26 Indian tourists, all men and mostly Hindu, were targeted by terrorists in what is being described as one of the valley's worst attacks in recent years.

Preliminary forensic analysis and survivor testimonies indicate that the five terrorists involved were heavily armed with automatic weapons, including AK rifles, and used advanced communication devices. Some of them were also dressed in military-style uniforms.

“Our intelligence intercepts suggest a direct link with operatives based in Pakistan. We have traced the digital footprint to some safehouses in Muzaffarabad and Karachi, which have been the key hubs for Lashkar-e-Taiba’s previous major attacks in India that are supervised by Pakistan army and the ISI from control centres,” said one of the people cited above.

Intelligence sources also indicate that a coordinated, state-sponsored plan was in place to send a larger number of highly trained terrorists into India.

Referring to earlier alerts, a second official said that in December and January, “there were alerts that Pakistan army and ISI were actively facilitating infiltration of highly skilled terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad from the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) into India.”

In February and March, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out extensive searches across several locations in Jammu and Kashmir to locate these infiltrated terrorists and the overground workers assisting them.

It is believed that once these terrorists entered India, they were aided by local overground workers who provided them with food, shelter, and financial support while moving them to different locations.

In a March statement, the NIA said, “terrorists were believed to have made their way to the hinterland districts of Kathua, Udhampur, Doda, Kishtwar, Reasi, Rajouri, Poonch, and also to the Kashmir valley.”

A senior intelligence official in Kashmir said, “currently, there are estimated 55 to 60 highly trained foreign terrorists in the Valley.”

According to the second officer, the Pakistani spy agency ISI has equipped terrorists with the offline version of the Alpine Quest navigation app, which is commonly used by professional trekkers.

“There is information that ISI has provided details of Indian security forces camps, police convoy movement, and barricades with this app to the infiltrated terrorists,” he said, adding that the terrorists are also using encrypted radio communication devices with servers based in Pakistan.

A third official said the terrorists tend to stay in mid-ridge areas of the Valley to avoid detection at lower altitudes.

In response to the Pahalgam attack, the Centre has reportedly instructed the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Army to intensify efforts to stop infiltration.