Indian security officials revealed on July 29, 2025, that the militants responsible for the April 22 Pahalgam massacre initially crossed into India from Pakistan in 2022, roughly three years before executing the deadly assault in Kashmir’s Baisaran Valley. The attackers—later killed in a joint operation known as Operation Mahadev—were confirmed to be Pakistani nationals based on a range of forensic and intelligence evidence, including Pakistani voter ID cards, Pakistani-produced chocolates, ballistically matched weapons, and eyewitness testimony.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah gave detailed testimony in parliament about the multi-stage Indian response. Operation Mahadev, conducted by the Army, CRPF and Jammu & Kashmir Police, began on May 22 and ended with the neutralization of the three suspects in the Dachigam forests near Srinagar. India attributed the attack to Lashkar-e-Taiba and accused Pakistan’s ISI of orchestrating it.

Pakistan has rejected such claims, denouncing the home minister’s statements as “replete with fabrications” and called for an independent investigation into the incident. Opposition figures also pressed the Indian government over alleged lapses in intelligence and security.