SRINAGAR, India, Dec 15 (Reuters) – India’s anti-terrorism agency on Monday charged militant Islamist groups based in Pakistan and six individuals over an April attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 men, and triggered intense fighting between the two countries.
The fighting, the worst between the nuclear-armed neighbours in decades, was sparked when militants opened fire on Hindu tourists in the Pahalgam region of Indian-administered Kashmir. New Delhi said the attack was backed by Pakistan, allegations which Islamabad has denied.
Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its offshoot The Resistance Front (TRF) were charged for their alleged role in “planning, facilitating, and executing the Pahalgam attack”, according to a statement from India’s anti-terrorism agency.
Three Pakistani men killed by Indian security forces during Operation Mahadev in July in Srinagar, Indian Kashmir, were charged posthumously, the statement said. Another two men already in custody were charged, and a man accused of being a Pakistani terrorist handler.
A spokesperson for Pakistan’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The 1,597-page document was filed before a special court in the Jammu region of India, and contained the first formal charges over the attack.
The NIA traced the conspiracy to Pakistan during a probe that lasted eight months, the statement said, adding that the LeT and TRF, along with the six men, were charged with waging war against India.
(Reporting by Fayaz Bukhari; Writing by Pooja Desai; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
