Srinagar: Nine days after the brutal terror attack in Pahalgam, the culprits are still on the run.
As the anger boils over and the country demands justice for the killing of 26 innocent civilians, there are reports that only add to cries for revenge.
NDTV reported citing sources that the terror module used for the deadly attack on tourists in Pahalgam’s Baisaran Valley on April 22 is the same as last year’s incident near the Z-Morh tunnel project in Sonmarg, where 6 labourers and a doctor were killed.
Both attacks were reportedly carried out by the same terror unit backed by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), with some of the operatives involved in the Pahalgam massacre having been a part of the Z-Morh tunnel attack in October 2024.
Junaid Ahmed Bhatt, one of the terrorists behind the Sonmarg attack, was killed in an encounter in December. Two more operatives tied to the same group were neutralised later.
Intelligence inputs have confirmed that Lashkar terrorist Hashim Musa, alias Suleman, who has been implicated in the Pahalgam killings, played a role in the Sonmarg tunnel attack as well.
Last October, terrorists opened fire on a workers’ camp, operated by a private construction company engaged in construction of Z-Morh tunnel, killing 7 people. The tunnel, spanning 6.5 kilometres with an additional 6.05 km of approach roads, connects Srinagar to Kargil. It was opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January this year.
As for the Pahalgam attack, one of the deadliest in recent years, militants had been planning it over several weeks.
The NIA has taken over the investigation, and according to officials, members of the Lashkar group arrived in Pahalgam a week before carrying out the gruesome act.
They conducted recces at four popular tourist locations — Baisaran, Aru Valley, Betaab Valley and a local amusement park. Ultimately, they zeroed in on Baisaran, because of lesser security deployment at that location.
Detained over ground workers (OGWs) revealed that the terrorists stayed in Baisaran valley for at least two days before launching the attack on unarmed civilians enjoying a grand holiday, on the afternoon of April 22. They emerged on the meadows from surrounding pine forests and shot at men in front of their family members.
