Three terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack have been eliminated by security forces in a joint operation by the Army, the Central Reserve Police Force and Jammu and Kashmir Police near Srinagar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Participating in the special discussion on Operation Sindoor, Shah said the terrorists were killed under Operation Mahadev on Monday. They have been identified as Suleman alias Faizal, Afghani and Jibran.
"While Suleman was an A-category commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Afghani was also an A-category Lashkar-e-Taiba terroris, Jibran too was a notorious and wanted terrorist. All these three terrorists involved in the killing of our citizens at Baisaran valley in Pahalgam have now been eliminated," he said.
To be sure about the identity of the terrorists, those detained by security forces for helping the terrorists were brought in and confirmed that the three were involved in the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, Shah told the House.
"People who used to supply food, provide shelter to the terrorists were detained earlier. Once the bodies of these terrorists were brought to Srinagar, they were identified by those who were detained by our agencies," he said.
The arms -- M-9 and AK-47 rifles -- recovered from the terrorists were flown to Chandigarh on Monday night in a special flight for examination at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory.
The empty cartridges found at Pahalgam and those after test firing by the recovered guns were matched by the forensic lab, Shah said. The ballistic report is with him, he added.
"Six forensic experts have confirmed to me on a video call this morning that these are the same bullets used in the Pahalgam attack," he said.
Shah also accused P Chidambaram, a previous incumbent of the ministry, of giving "clean chit" to Pakistan in the Pahalgam terror attack, asserting that it amounted to questioning India's attack on terror facilities in the country.
In an interview, Chidambaram had raised questions on the claim that the terrorists behind the incident were from Pakistan.
He had said, "Have they (NIA) identified the terrorists or where they came from? For all we know, they could be homegrown terrorists. Why do you assume they came from Pakistan? There is no evidence of that."
If Chidambaram says these were not Pakistanis, then it means that the former home minister of the country is giving clean chit to Pakistan in front of the world, Shah said.
With such a statement, the Congress leader is questioning the rationale behind the "attack on Pakistan", he added.
The whole world, Shah claimed, has accepted Pakistan's role in the attack but Chidambaram is creating doubts. "Had he asked me I would have given him proof."
He said Indians are watching this conspiracy to shield Pakistan, and the Congress will not be able to save itself.
The home minister said security forces had recovered Pakistani voter IDs of two of the killed terrorists as well as chocolates made in Pakistan and the weapons.
After the Pahalgam attack, security forces were instructed not to allow terrorists responsible for the dastardly act to leave the country
Describing the Pahalgam attack as barbaric, Shah said innocent civilians were brutally killed in front of their families after being asked about their religion and were murdered with extreme cruelty.
Expressing heartfelt condolences for those who had lost their lives in Pahalgam and during Pakistani shelling on civilians, the home minister said due to Pakistani firing civilians were martyred and some gurdwaras and temples damaged.
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