New Delhi: Six years ago on the afternoon of February 14, 2019, a car laden with explosives rammed into a convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at Lethpora, a village in Pulwama, along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway. The attack claimed the lives of over 40 paramilitary personnel.
In the aftermath of the attack, the Indian Air Force carried out a surgical strike in Balakot, Pakistan, on February 28, 2019, escalating tensions between the two neighbours.
Who was responsible for the attack?
As the news of the attack sent shockwaves across the world, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), a Pakistan-based group, claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing — the deadliest single attack against Indian forces in the region since 1989. The suicide bomber was reportedly Adil Ahmad Dar, a 21-year-old Class 12 dropout from Gundibagh village in Pulwama. After the attack, the JeM brough out a pre-recorded video message on social media, in which Dar said: “By the time this video reaches you, I will be enjoying heaven…”
Jaish-e-Mohammad, which literally means the Army of Mohammad, is a group that is recognised as a terrorist organisation by India, the United Nations, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was formed with an aim to unite Kashmir with Pakistan. Pulwama was one of the many attacks that JeM has carried out in India.
Back in December 2001, India blamed JeM for an attack on the Parliament in New Delhi, but JeM denied the claim. India also blamed JeM for the attack on its Pathankot airbase near the Pakistani border in January 2016, which killed three security personnel.
Who founded JeM?
JeM was founded by Pakistan-based Muslim cleric Masood Azhar after his release by India in 1999. He was one of the three men released in exchange for the crew and passengers of an Indian Airlines plane that was hijacked and flown to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. During his time in the country, Azhar is reported to have met with former Taliban leader Mullah Omar and al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden.
What did the investigation say?
A day after the Pulwama attack, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrived in Srinagar and gathered samples and forensic evidence. A number of persons were later arrested, and a 13,800-page chargesheet was submitted to a special court in Jammu in August 2020.
The chargesheet named JeM leadership — including Masood Azhar, Rouf Asgar, and Ammar Alvi — as accused, as well as nine local suspects. Seven of these were from Pulwama. Four Pakistani terrorists, including Umar Farooq (a nephew of Masood Azhar) and Kamran, were later gunned down in a gunfight.
