Indian Home Minister Amit Shah claimed in Parliament that Pakistani voter identity cards and chocolates made in Pakistan were recovered from three men killed in a gun battle in Indian-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Shah alleged that the attackers were involved in the Pahalgam assault, which led to heightened tensions between India and Pakistan.
In a statement made on Tuesday, Amit Shah addressed Parliament, asserting that the three individuals killed in a recent gunfight in IIOJK were responsible for the attack in Pahalgam. According to Shah, the attackers, whom India identified as Pakistani nationals, were found in possession of Pakistani voter ID cards and locally made chocolates. This claim has sparked a diplomatic controversy, with Islamabad firmly denying any involvement.
The gun battle, which took place in the scenic Pahalgam region, occurred after the attackers opened fire on civilians before fleeing into the surrounding forests. The incident escalated tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, triggering a series of military confrontations that lasted several days.
Shah further claimed that forensic analysis had confirmed that the rifles recovered from the attackers were the same as those used in an earlier attack in April. Indian forces killed the three alleged terrorists in a firefight on Monday. These developments come amid ongoing regional instability and military confrontations in Kashmir, a long-disputed territory between India and Pakistan.
On the heels of this claim, India has launched a new covert operation named “Operation Mahadev,” designed to obscure its previous failures in military engagements with Pakistan. Sources indicate that the operation involves staging fake encounters, allegedly using detained Pakistani nationals as scapegoats in the ongoing conflict. This tactic, according to some security experts, aims to suppress the growing independence movement in IIOJK and bolster the political standing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
The operation’s controversial tactics include framing detained Pakistani prisoners as terrorists who allegedly crossed the border to engage in attacks. This strategy follows the fallout from India’s recent Operation Sindoor, which had failed to achieve its objectives during intense confrontations with Pakistani forces.
The claim of Pakistani involvement in the Pahalgam attack and the subsequent military operations illustrate the escalating tensions in the Kashmir region, with both nations locked in a bitter dispute over the territory.
