Lashkar's Pakistan-based 'Langda' named mastermind of Pahalgam attack, NIA makes him accused No. 1
The NIA said Saifullah is now among India's most wanted terrorists. Hiding deep inside Pakistan, he has not stopped planning terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, the NIA said.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday filed a chargesheet in the 2025 Pahalgam attack, in which 26 civilians were killed, saying it was a Pakistan-based conspiracy orchestrated by handlers linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba and its proxy outfit The Resistance Front (TRF). The NIA also established linkages between the attackers and their handlers in Pakistan with details of their IP addresses, phone numbers, and other evidence.
The NIA in the chargesheet named Pakistan-based operative Saifullah alias Sajid Jatt 'Langda' as the mastermind and said the attack was directed by him in real time from Pakistan.
As per the chargesheet by the NIA, the probe established "clear technical and human intelligence evidence" linking the three attackers to handlers in Pakistan, while also exposing what investigators describe as an attempted disinformation campaign to project the massacre as a "false flag" operation.
NIA names Saifullah accused No. 1
The NIA said Saifullah is now among India's most wanted terrorists. Hiding deep inside Pakistan, he has not stopped planning terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, the NIA said.
Saifullah, listed as Accused No. 1, has been identified by the NIA as a top TRF commander operating from Lahore. The NIA chargesheet stated that "Sajid Jatt @ Ali is the commander of the proscribed terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba/The Resistance Front".
In the charge sheet, the NIA said he remained in constant communication with the attackers during the assault and was guiding them by sharing coordinates.
The NIA also recorded show Sajid was born in Kasur, Pakistan, and infiltrated Jammu and Kashmir in 2005. Moreover, he stayed in Kulgam between 2005 and 2007, married a local woman named Shabbira, and had a son. However, he later returned to Pakistan with his wife, while his son remained in Kashmir. The NIA also recorded statements from his son and family members as part of the probe.
Saifullah directed attack from Lahore
The NIA in the chargesheet stated that Sajid built an extensive network of overground workers in south Kashmir and used it to execute multiple attacks and added that the Pahalgam massacre was carried out through this same network.
The chargesheet further added that he played a central role in creating TRF after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and continued to run cross-border arms and narcotics smuggling into Jammu and Kashmir using drones.
The NIA in the chargesheet said Sajid, who lost a leg in a gunfight and now uses a prosthetic limb, dispatched the three attackers toward Besaran Valley on April 15–16, indicating the conspiracy was finalised days before the massacre.
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