The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday arrested a 26-year-old man in connection with the deadly Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 tourists, including a Nepal citizen, on April 22.
According to officials, accused Mohammad Yousuf Katari was arrested on the basis of an intelligence lead from South Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
Who is Mohammad Yousuf Katari?
- Katari, the officials said, is a teacher but also acted as an Over Ground Worker in Kulgam.
- He is believed to have links with Pakistan-based Laskar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group.
- The officials said Katari had a role in providing logistical support to the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack, who were later killed during Operation Mahadev.
- Katari was zeroed in on, after an analysis of the equipment and weapons recovered from the LeT terrorists killed in Operation Mahadev.
- Operation Mahadev was carried out for weeks, starting May 22, when security forces received intelligence about the presence of terrorists in Dachigam near Srinagar. Three terrorists, including the mastermind of the Pahalgam attack, were killed in the operation.
- AK-47 and M9 assault rifles were among the weapons recovered from the hideout of the three terrorists, the officials said. The weapons were sent to a laboratory in Chandigarh for processing and reports confirmed the guns were used in the Pahalgam attack.
Pahalgam Terror Attack, Operation Sindoor
Twenty-five tourists – 24 Indians and one Nepali citizen – and a local man were killed in the terror attack at Baisaran – dubbed ‘mini Switzerland’ for its meadow – in Pahalgam on April 22. An officer of the Indian Navy and an Intelligence Bureau personnel were also among those killed.
It was the deadliest strike in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama strike. The Resistance Front, a shadow group LeT, claimed responsibility.
Days later, on the intervening night of May 6 and 7, the Indian Air Force conducted a series of precision strikes and destroyed infrastructure in nine terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The act – codenamed Operation Sindoor – was in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
As Pakistan responded to the action, both nations engaged in strikes and counter-strikes for three nights. On May 10, India and Pakistan reached an agreement to stop all firing and military action on land, air and sea, with effect from 5pm.
