"All Three Terrorists Killed In Operation Mahadev Were Behind Pahalgam Attack": Amit Shah On Operation Sindoor

Union Home Minister Amit Shah began his speech in Lok Sabha on Tuesday (29 July) by giving details of the three terrorists killed in Operation Mahadev by joint forces on Monday.

Shah said that the three killed terrorists, Suleiman, Zibran and Afghan, were affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba and orchestrated the 22 April Pahalgam attack, killing 26 innocents.

"Operation Mahadev began on that day itself. It was decided that we would not let these terrorists escape to Pakistan. Instruments made by our agencies were used to track them from 22 May onwards," Shah explained.

"On 22 July, we got success as sensors confirmed the presence of terrorists. 4 Para, CRPF and Jammu-Kashmir Police soldiers cordoned off the area in a joint operation. Yesterday's operation avenged the death of our innocent citizens," he added.

Shah asserted that four people confirmed that these were the three terrorists who killed people in Pahalgam. Also, the rifles of these terrorists were verified with the cartridges found after the attack, to ascertain their identities.

However, after Shah's revelations, the opposition didn't show much happiness over the news. Taunting over which Shah questioned, "What kind of politics is this? Are you sad on seeing the religion of the terrorists?"

The Home Minister reiterated, "The rifles found with the terrorists were the ones used during the Pahalgam attack. I have the ballistic report to prove it."

Elaborating about National Investigation Agency's (NIA) probe, Shah said, "We took long testimonies of 1,055 people. Sketches were made on this basis. Bashir and Parvez were identified for helping terrorists and arrested."

"They (arrested individuals) revealed that terrorists had two AK-47s and an M9 carbine. Their mothers identified the three terrorists. The three terrorists were from Pakistan and two locals have been arrested for aiding them," Shah said.