Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 24: The Jammu and Kashmir police have identified two of three suspected terrorists who attacked the tourists in Pahalgam as Pakistani nationals while the one was stated to be local, a resident of Anantnag district in the union territory.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police had on Wednesday released sketches of three individuals suspected to be the Pahalgam attackers. The sketches were prepared on the descriptions given by the survivors who had seen the terrorists from close quarters. The police have announced a reward of Rs 20 lakhs for credible information leading to their arrest.
According to the notices made public by the Anantnag police, the suspects are: Hashim Musa alias Suleman, a citizen of Pakistan, Ali Bhai alias Talha Bhai, also a citizen of Pakistan and Abdul Hussain Thokar, a resident of Anantnag district in Jammu and Kashmir. All three are believed to be members of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The attack, which took place in Baisaran near Pahalgam on Tuesday, claimed the lives of 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen. It is one of the deadliest assaults on civilians in the region in recent years.
In response to the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a strongly worded statement today during a public address in Bihar. In his first remarks since the incident, PM Modi said, “India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the earth. India’s resolve will not falter. Terrorism will not go unpunished.”
Earlier in the day, a huge protest erupted outside the Pakistan High Commission in the national capital amid heightened tensions between Delhi and Islamabad over the Pahalgam terror attack. Visuals from outside the Pakistan High Commission, located in Chanakyapuri, Delhi’s diplomatic enclave, show a large crowd gathered outside the building, with police forces trying to pacify it.
