India says all suspects behind Kashmir's Pahalgam attack killed
Iran Press TV
Tuesday, 29 July 2025 7:08 PM
India claims three suspected armed men killed in Indian-administered Kashmir were responsible for the April killings of tourists in the Pahalgam region, an attack that sparked a sharp military escalation with Pakistan.
India's home minister, Amit Shah, told the parliament on Tuesday that three heavily-armed suspects were killed by Indian forces near the disputed region's summer capital, Srinagar, on Monday.
"I want to tell the Parliament, those who attacked in Baisaran were three terrorists and all three have been killed," said Shah, referring to the area near the picturesque Kashmiri town of Pahalgam where 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists, were shot dead on April 22.
He claimed the attackers were Pakistani nationals, a charge Islamabad denies.
Shah said all three were Pakistani nationals and identified two of them as members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based outlawed armed group.
Their identity was confirmed through forensic and ballistic tests, Shah told the Indian MPs. The rifles found on the men were the ones used in the April attack, he added.
"Indian security agencies have detailed evidence of their involvement in the attack," the Indian minister said in his speech in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament.
Shah said a security meeting was held immediately after the attack, and it was decided that the attackers should not be "allowed to leave the country and return to Pakistan."
The claims come amid mounting criticism of the Indian government for alleged security lapses in Kashmir's Pahalgam region.
All those killed in the April attack were listed as residents of India except one man who was from Nepal.
An armed group called The Resistance Front (TRF) initially claimed responsibility for the attack on social media, but later retracted the statement, saying its account had been hacked.
The Pahalgam attack led to an intense military conflict with Pakistan.
In May, India launched a series of strikes on sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Pakistan responded with drones, missiles, and fighter jets, leading to four days of intense exchanges from both sides.
Dozens of people were killed in what was the bloodiest confrontation between India and Pakistan in decades, before a ceasefire was announced between the neighboring countries.
Delhi accused Islamabad of supporting militant groups involved in the attack - a charge Pakistan has repeatedly denied.
Since 1989, Kashmiri fighters have been fighting against Indian rule, demanding independence.
India accuses Pakistan of backing the violence, but Islamabad says it only provides diplomatic support to Kashmir's struggle for self-determination.
The Muslim-majority region of Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their 1947 independence from British rule, with both countries claiming it in full and fighting multiple wars over its control.
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