The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed a chargesheet against Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Hafiz Saeed, detailing Pakistan’s role in last year’s terror attack in Pahalgam’s Baisaran meadow, in which 25 tourists and a pony handler were killed. The attack led to a four-day armed conflict between India and Pakistan.
Saeed, a designated terrorist, was named in the supplementary charge sheet, filed in a Jammu court, in his personal capacity in the conspiracy and also as the head of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its proxy group, the Resistance Front (TRF), the federal counter-terrorism probe agency said.
The agency said in a statement that the indictment was filed in continuation of the original 1,597-page indictment that was filed on December 15 last year. “…presents details of the Pakistan conspiracy, the role of Hafez Saeed, and the supporting evidence collected by the NIA in the case through rigorous scientific investigation and field examination,” the agency said.
Saeed is India’s most wanted terrorist. He was behind attacks, including the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. The NIA has charged him under the terrorism-related sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. “The NIA has also activated the criminal section against those accused of waging war against India and hatching a cross-border conspiracy in the chargesheet,” the agency said.
The National Intelligence Agency said that investigations are continuing to uncover the full conspiracy of Pakistan, which is sponsoring terrorism on Indian soil across the border.
In the first chargesheet, the NIA named the three Pakistani terrorists who killed the tourists – Faisal Jat alias Sulaiman, Habib Tahir alias Jibran Bhai, and Hamza Afghan, who was killed during Operation Mahadev in July 2025. It named TRF leader Sajid Saifullah Jat, also known as Langda, and two local residents, Bashir Ahmed Gauthad and Parvez Ahmed, who were arrested last June.
Lashkar-e-Taiba/TRF has been named for their role in planning, facilitating and executing the terrorist attack.
The NIA concluded that the terrorist attack “involved targeted killings on religious grounds by Pakistani-backed terrorists.”
HT exclusively reported the details of the first indictment. It was reported that Sajid Saifullah Jat shared the coordinates of Marj Besaran with the attackers. One of the terrorists involved was also part of a terror attack on the Srinagar-Leh highway in October 2024, it added.
The indictment stated that the three terrorists had lunch outside Besaran meadow before launching their attack, and then opened fire in celebration after the attack. Citing data obtained from two phones recovered from the terrorists, she said the conversations showed Sajid Jat giving directions to the terrorists. Screenshots of the Alpine Quest app showed coordinates of locations near Baysaran Park, the indictment said. The NIA said both phones were sold in Pakistan based on data from the Indian arm of phone maker Xiaomi.
On April 21, 2025, the three arrived outside Parvez Ahmed’s hut, approximately one kilometer from the meadow, and demanded a safe place and food in the name of God, according to the indictment. He recognized them for what they were, and let them into the hut. Ahmed, his wife Tahira, and their infant child were present. The three asked to hide their weapons and asked for food. While eating, they talked about the 2025 Amarnath Yatra, security forces camps and their movements, the charge sheet said.
They also spoke to Jett, the indictment said. The terrorists took shelter in the hut for about five hours and left around 10 p.m., after asking Tahira to make some pancakes for them and taking some spices and a cooking pot. Before leaving, they gave Ahmed $3000.
The indictment stated that Gothatad and Ahmed saw the terrorists the next morning (April 22, 2025), when they arrived at Besaran Park for work. The three were sitting outside the fence, but the two did not think to warn the security forces, tourists or even their fellow pony operators.
The first charge sheet issued by the NIA stated that the investigation had conclusively proven that the terrorist attack was planned, directed and controlled from Pakistan. It said that Lashkar-e-Taiba and its agent TRF coordinated the entire conspiracy through Pakistani operative Sajid Jat, who coordinated the terrorist movement, drone downing, arms supply, and communications using phones of Pakistani origin.
“The hierarchical command structure, encrypted cross-border coordination, weapons logistics, and handler-driven missions, as described in the indictment and supported by physical evidence, leave no doubt that the attack was a terrorist operation sponsored by Pakistan and carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba/NLF,” the statement read.
India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7, 2025, in response to the terror attack. It struck terrorist infrastructure and military installations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir before the ceasefire on May 10, 2025.
