Hafiz Saeed, founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, has been named as an accused for his role in the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack. File picture
| Photo Credit: Reuters
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday (July 6, 2026) filed charges against Hafiz Saeed, chief and founder of Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its proxy The Resistance Front (TRF), in the Pahalgam terror attack case. Twenty-six civilians were killed in the attack on April 22, 2025.
An NIA spokesman said a supplementary chargesheet was filed before the NIA Special Court in Jammu.
“The accused has been charged under various sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. NIA has also invoked the penal section against the accused for waging war against India and hatching a conspiracy from across the border in the charge sheet,” the NIA said.
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The charge sheet, filed in continuation of the original 1,597-page charge sheet, provided details of Pakistan’s conspiracy, Saeed’s role, and supporting evidence collected by the NIA in the case “through meticulous scientific investigation and on-ground examination”.
The NIA, on December 15, 2025, had filed the original charge sheet. It had then charged Pakistani terrorist handler Sajid Jatt as an accused along with three terrorists, who were killed by the security forces during Operation Mahadev in July 2025.
Besides, two arrested accused, civilians who allegedly provided logistics to the attackers, were named in the previous chargesheet.
The NIA has charged the LeT and the TRF as legal entities for their “role in planning, facilitating, and executing the Pahalgam terror attack”.
Immediately after the attack last year, a First Information Report was registered by the Pahalgam police station in Anantnag. After initial investigation by the Jammu & Kashmir Police, the case was transferred to NIA by the Union Home Ministry.
“The NIA continues to probe the case to unravel the complete conspiracy by Pakistan, which has been actively sponsoring terrorism on Indian soil from across the border,” the agency said.
Published – July 06, 2026 03:45 pm IST
