Pahalgam Attackers Identified through Forensic Evidence, says Amit Shah

On July 29, 2025, the Home Minister of India, Amit Shah, confirmed that ballistic forensic evidence has positively determined that the three militants killed in a recent operation were the same group of terrorists that carried out the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack, which led to a tragic death of 26 civilians around the Baisaran Valley of Jammu and Kashmir. The identification was made by a detailed ballistic test by forensic experts that matched with the weapons used by the terrorists in the Pahalgam Attack, making a significant breakthrough in the investigation. 

Details of the Forensic Investigation 

After the three terrorists killed during Operation Mahadev near Srinagar were identified as Suleman Shah alias Faizal Jatt, Abu Hamza, and Yasir, their weapons—including one M-4 carbine and two AK-47s—were urgently flown from Srinagar to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Chandigarh late Monday night. Forensic experts immediately began detailed ballistic tests, firing the recovered weapons to produce test cartridge casings for comparison with those found at the Pahalgam attack site.

The forensic experts worked hard at night, poring over the expertise and ensuring everything was perfectly done. Six forensic experts compared the two sets of results and validated, via video conference, early in the morning today (Tuesday) that the shells ejected by the rifles recovered were a hundred percent identical to the cartridge casings recovered at the scene where the terrorists attacked Pahalgam, which inarguably linked the instruments used by the terrorists killed by the police forces to the carnage. 

Overview  of the Pahalgam Attack

On April 22, 2025 five masked militants raided tourists at Baisaran Valley in the picturesque surroundings of Pahalgam and targeted mainly Hindu tourists. It was a violent and heinous attack with attackers picking male non-Muslim tourists by requesting religious intonations and killing them. There were twenty-six dead civilians, some of them newlywed couples, and a local Muslim pony ride operator who tried to intervene unsuccessfully. The weapons in question were also said to be modern assault rifles, which were the same as those of the killed terrorists.

Operation Mahadev, and Militants Tracking.

The three militants killed during operation Mahadev on July 28, 2025 were hunted for more than two months through intelligence works and tracking of a Huawei satellite phone believed to have been used by the militant associates. The operation was carried out by the security agencies including Rashtriya Rifles, Jammu & Kashmir Police and Para SF in jungles of Dachigam, which is near Srinagar.

The identities of the militants were also confirmed by cross verification with local informants, Pakistani voter identity cards, and other available evidence pointing to their foreign origins and links to Pakistan based terrorist organizations, in particular Lashkar-e-Taiba ( LeT ). Two of the attacking militants were established members of LeT, and the organization had earlier been involved in various attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.

Official Statements of Home Minister

Addressing a Lok Sabha session, Home Minister Amit Shah said that he was proud of the forensic confirmation and the untiring efforts of Indian security agencies. He told the nation that there is no place to doubt over the involvement of these three terrorists in the Pahalgam massacre and that they would get justice.

This case is the best  example of how vital forensic science is in the process of counterterrorism efforts. Ballistic matching is another scientific way of connecting weapons retrieved to crime scenes unambiguously thus making the charges related to the case supported by undeniable facts. The political nature of Kashmir is hostile and sensitive in which nothing less than perfection in terms of accuracy of security claims can lead to justice and peace. 

As an Indian youth, aspirant, and career seeker, choosing forensic science can be the best career decision because this case proves how forensic science helps law enforcement by offering a transparent and credible foundation for national security decisions and more. Pursuing this field could turn out to  be highly rewarding to both the nation and the individual