NEW DELHI, Sept 24: The Jammu and Kashmir Police is claimed to have made a major breakthrough and have arrested a man who provided logistical support to the terrorists who perpetrated the April 22 Pahalgam attack killing 26 innocent tourists, official sources said on Wednesday.
Mohammad Katari was arrested after a forensic analysis of weapons and equipment recovered during July’s Operation Mahadev, which saw security forces track down and neutralise two gunmen who slaughtered 26 people at Baisaran Valley, a popular tourist spot near Pahalgam.
This is the first big moment for security forces since Op Mahadev, and underlines the government’s continued focus on tracking down all those responsible for the Pahalgam attack. A faction of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba had initially claimed responsibility for the gruesome attack.
Operation Mahadev unfolded over weeks starting May 22, when security forces received intel about terrorists hiding in Dachigam forests near Srinagar. After weeks of observation – during which time the military intercepted encrypted comms on China-origin devices – the assault began on July 28.
The terrorists fired up the T82 comms device that allowed Indian forces to pinpoint their location. At 8 am a drone was launched for visual confirmation of the terrorists. At 9.30 am the Rashtriya Rifles – the Army’s counter-insurgency force in J&K – and Special Forces commandos had boots on the ground and, within 30 minutes, a secondary visual confirmation was made.
At 11 am, shots were fired. At 11.45 am, one injured terrorist was killed trying to escape. By 12.45 pm, all three had been eliminated, and their bodies located and identified, including Suleiman Shah, alias Hashim Musa, the alleged mastermind of the Pahalgam attack.
Shah was a former commando in the Pakistan Army’s elite Special Service Group. He later joined UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed’s LeT to carry out terror activities, source had said. He had first infiltrated India in September 2023. In October 2024 he led an attack that killed seven civilians. He was also involved in an attack in Baramulla that killed four security personnel.
The visuals of terrorists’ hideout had showed multiple guns, including AK-47 and M9 assault rifles. These and other weapons and equipment were what helped J&K Police track down and apprehend Mohd Katari. The weapons had been sent to a lab in Chandigarh for processing that confirmed also the guns had been used in the Pahalgam attack. Union Home Minister Amit Shah told Parliament, “We generated empty bullet shells by firing these rifles and matched them to those found in Pahalgam.” “It was confirmed that these rifles were used to murder innocent civilians.”
(Manas Dasgupta)
