Home Minister Amit Shah announced in the Indian parliament that forensic testing confirmed the rifles used in the attack matched those from the recent incident. He also claimed that India had evidence indicating the deceased terrorists were Pakistani nationals. Additionally, Shah stated that Pakistani voter IDs and chocolates made in Pakistan were found among the three men killed during a gunfight in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
Shah emphasized that all three terrorists responsible for killing Indian citizens had been eliminated. The assault took place in a tourist-frequented valley in Pahalgam, IIOJK, where the attackers, allegedly Pakistani citizens—an assertion denied by Islamabad—fired on locals before escaping into nearby pine forests.
This incident prompted India to respond militarily against Pakistan, igniting four days of fierce fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbors. In May, Pakistan repelled Indian forces during Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos, which was launched in retaliation to India’s Operation Sindoor. Over the 87-hour conflict, Pakistan shot down six fighter jets, including three Rafale aircraft, and multiple drones. The hostilities ended on May 10 with a ceasefire mediated by the United States.
In parliament, Shah asserted that India possessed substantial proof linking the slain terrorists to Pakistan, citing recovered Pakistani voter IDs and chocolates made in Pakistan. Forensic analysis indicated that the rifles found with them were used in an attack earlier this April. The Indian army reported that the three were killed in a fierce firefight in a forest in IIOJK.
A day prior, India initiated a covert military operation called “Operation Mahadev,” aimed at covering up recent failures in its conflict with Pakistan. Sources tell Geo News that this operation involves resurrecting false encounter tactics and falsely identifying detained Pakistanis as cross-border terrorists. Officials suggest that Indian forces have begun staging fake operations under this plan, targeting the suppression of the growing independence movement in IIOJK and attempting to restore political credibility for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Detainees already held in Indian jails are reportedly being used for these staged encounters, where they are killed and then presented as terrorists who crossed the border.
