▲ Hafiz Saeed
India has indicted the leader of a Pakistani militant group in connection with a terrorist attack in Kashmir that sparked an armed conflict between India and Pakistan last year.
According to reports from AFP and other media on July 7 (local time), India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) indicted Hafiz Saeed (76), the leader of the Pakistani Islamic militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), on the previous day regarding the terror attack that occurred in Indian-administered Kashmir last year.
He is accused of masterminding the attack in April last year near Pahalgam, a resort area in Indian-administered Kashmir, which resulted in the deaths of 26 people, including Indian tourists.
Previously, the NIA had already indicted six militants, as well as the group The Resistance Front (TRF), in addition to LeT, in December last year.
TRF is a local organization linked to LeT that initially claimed responsibility for the Kashmir attack before later retracting its statement and denying any involvement.
The NIA explained that Saeed was indicted not only in his personal capacity but also as the leader of both LeT and TRF, which are banned organizations.
The agency stated, "He is charged with waging war against India and conspiring from across the border," adding that "the indictment includes details regarding the conspiracy in Pakistan, Saeed's role, and evidence collected through on-site investigations."
The Pakistani government has not yet issued a specific statement regarding this matter.
Kashmir is a region subject to territorial disputes between India and Pakistan.
India governs the Kashmir Valley and Jammu, while Pakistan effectively controls the western part of Kashmir.
India and Pakistan, both de facto nuclear-armed states, engaged in an armed conflict that nearly escalated into an all-out war in May last year, exchanging missile strikes following the Kashmir terror attack in April.
More than 70 people were killed at the time, and the two countries eventually reached a dramatic ceasefire agreement after three days.
India identified Pakistan as the mastermind behind the Kashmir terror attack, but Pakistan has categorically denied the allegations.
Saeed founded the Islamic fundamentalist militant group LeT around 1990 and has since led its affiliated organizations as well.
He is known as the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which claimed 166 lives.
Since 2020, he has been sentenced to multiple prison terms in Pakistan on charges of terror financing and is currently incarcerated.
(Photo: AFP, Yonhap News)
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