The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has named Pakistan-based terrorist Sajid Jatt as the chief conspirator behind the Pahalgam terror attack in its chargesheet filed on Monday.

Investigators identified Sajid Jatt, also known as Saifullah, as a senior Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative. He runs operations for The Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashkar proxy group that claimed responsibility for the attack. The incident in Pahalgam on April 22 left 26 people dead.

By formally naming Jatt as the mastermind, the NIA confirmed Pakistan’s direct involvement in the attack. The chargesheet details how handlers, funding channels, and operational instructions traced back to Pakistan played a role in planning and executing the strike. India has repeatedly accused its neighbour of supporting cross-border terrorism.

Earlier reports by CNN-News18 had highlighted Jatt’s role as an operational commander of LeT. From Pakistan, he managed terror modules operating in Kashmir. While Pakistan projected TRF as a local outfit, the investigation showed that Jatt coordinated targets, timing, and logistics using encrypted communication platforms. Reports also stated that Lashkar created TRF in 2019 to provide plausible deniability and reduce scrutiny from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

What the NIA Chargesheet Reveals

The NIA chargesheet named seven accused in the Pahalgam terror attack case. It laid out Pakistan’s alleged conspiracy, detailed the roles of each accused, and listed evidence supporting the prosecution’s claims.

The agency charged the banned LeT-TRF as an organisation for its role in planning, facilitating, and carrying out the attack. The chargesheet runs into 1,597 pages and was submitted before the NIA special court in Jammu.

Apart from Sajid Jatt, the document also named three Pakistani terrorists killed by Indian security forces during ‘Operation Mahadev’ in Dachigam in July. They were identified as Faisal Jatt alias Suleman Shah, Habeeb Tahir alias Jibran, and Hamza Afghani.

Legal Provisions Invoked

The NIA charged the LeT-TRF and the four terrorists under multiple laws. These include provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Arms Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The agency also invoked sections related to “waging war against India”, underscoring the gravity of the charges and the national security implications of the case.