Srinagar: In a significant breakthrough, Jammu and Kashmir police have arrested Mohammad Kataria, accused of providing logistical support to the terrorists involved in the April 22 Pahalgam attack.
The arrest follows forensic analysis of weapons and equipment recovered during Operation Mahadev, conducted in July this year, in which security forces tracked down and neutralised three terrorists responsible for killing 26 people in Pahalgam.
Earlier, in June, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had arrested two individuals, Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar from Batkote and Bashir Ahmad Jothar of Hill Park, Pahalgam, for allegedly harbouring the attackers. They disclosed the identities of the three terrorists and were said to have provided them with food and shelter.
The NIA also interrogated a resident of Handwara in connection with the funding that facilitated the attack. Investigations revealed that one Yasir Hayat was in touch with a suspected Malaysian-based handler, Sajad Ahmed Mir, along with two others from Pakistan. Under Mir’s instructions, Hayat transferred Rs 2 lakh to Shafat Wani. In total, Wani is reported to have received Rs 9 lakh, which was used to fund terror activities.
The NIA confirmed that it has uncovered a foreign funding trail linked to accounts in Malaysia. The investigation highlights a complex network of funding for The Resistance Front, the outfit that carried out the attack. Indian intelligence agencies, along with Jammu and Kashmir police and the NIA, are compiling a detailed dossier on the group, including funding routes, radicalisation, training, and recruitment.
The Resistance Front is believed to be a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba, created by Pakistan’s ISI to portray the Kashmir conflict as locally driven while maintaining deniability for Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Taiba during attacks on Indian soil.
The dossier is also expected to play a key role in exposing the terror funding route linking Pakistan to these operations. India plans to use this evidence to urge action against Pakistan at the Financial Action Task Force, potentially leading to its re-inclusion on the Grey List.
With IANS inputs