SRINAGAR: Top Intelligence sources have revealed to The New Indian that the key plotters behind the Pahalgam terror attack were also participants in a rally organized in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on February 5, 2025. Intelligence assessments indicate the meeting served to strengthen the nexus between Hamas and Pakistan-supported terrorist organisations such as Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and LeT.
The event, branded the ‘Kashmir Solidarity and Hamas Operation Al Aqsa Flood Conference’, was hosted at Shaheed Sabir Stadium in PoK. During the gathering, a Jaish operative issued a blood-curdling threat from the dais, declaring: “The fighters of Palestine and Kashmir now march as one. Blood will be spilled in Delhi, and Kashmir shall be torn from India.”
The rally witnessed the presence of top-ranking terrorist operatives including Talha Saif brother of JeM’s chief Masood Azhar along with senior field commanders Asghar Khan Kashmiri and Masood Ilyas, alongside influential Lashkar leaders. In a first, Hamas officially marked its presence in PoK, represented by Dr. Khalid Al-Qadoumi, its Iran-based envoy. Several other prominent Palestinian figures were also in attendance.
Ahead of this high-level radical convergence, an eight-minute propaganda video was released on social platforms by the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, aggressively promoting the slogan “Pak ki Azadi, Kashmir ki Azadi.” The video glorified separatists like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Yasin Malik, and Masrat Alam Bhat, while exalting slain terrorists such as Burhan Wani and Manan Wani by showcasing their funerals. It incited Kashmiri youth to rebel against India, drawing provocative comparisons between Kashmir and Gaza.
Pahalgam Terror Attack was intricately orchestrated from across the Line of Control, with active involvement of banned Pakistan-based terrorist groups including Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Jammu and Kashmir United Mujahideen (JKUM). This was a premeditated strike of significant magnitude, carried out by a group of highly skilled and trained Pakistani terrorists.
Intelligence sources have identified key figures—Abu Musa (alias Musa Kashmiri), Saifullah Kasuri (also known as Saifullah Khalid), and Rizwan Hanif—as the principal architects of the attack, executed by highly trained foreign terrorists.
Saifullah Kasuri @Saifullah Khalid is a senior commander of LeT. He has close ties with LeT founder Hafiz Saeed. Kasuri has been designated by the US Treasury for his role in terrorist activities. He has served as the head of LeT’s Peshawar operations and was a member of the Coordination Committee of JuD in Punjab. Kasuri is also linked to the political front Milli Muslim League (MML), which has been accused of providing a civilian facade to LeT’s operations. His speeches have been known to incite communal violence.
Abu Musa @ Musa Kashmiri was previously associated with ISIS. Musa was involved in plotting attacks on foreign nationals in India, including plans to target tourists in Kolkata. He was found in possession of jihadist literature and had attempted to carry out lone-wolf attacks. Musa later aligned with LeT and was deployed to Jammu and Kashmir to target non-locals and security forces.
Rizwan Hanif is a senior operative within JKUM, operating primarily from Rawalakot in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Hanif is believed to have played a significant role in coordinating the logistics and execution of the Pahalgam attack.
According to a senior intelligence functionary, “Pakistan-backed terrorist outfits are now consciously emulating Hamas’s blueprint. These groups are manipulating religious ideologies to provoke violence and foster deep-seated communal discord within Jammu and Kashmir.”
Crucially, the Pahalgam attack was marked by a disturbing modus operandi terrorists reportedly interrogated victims about their faith before executing them, signaling a targeted communal intent behind the killings.
Top officials further disclosed that “Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), along with its military, is at the helm of this campaign. Their objective is to reshape the Kashmir narrative on the global stage by equating it with the Palestine-Israel conflict. The intention is two fold: to draw international attention and to radicalize impressionable youth by weaponizing religious sentiment.”
