Bilal Veeri CNI

Jammu, July 8: A special court in Jammu on Monday gave the National Investigation Agency (NIA) 10 more days of custody for the two men accused of helping the terrorists involved in the deadly Pahalgam attack in April this year.

The accused, Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad Jothar, were earlier in NIA custody for 10 days. After their initial remand ended, they were presented before the Special NIA Court, which approved an extension to allow the investigation to continue.

The two men were arrested on June 22 and taken to court the next day. At first, the court granted five days of remand before the case was officially moved to the special NIA court, which later extended it further.

According to NIA officials, the two accused admitted that they had sheltered three terrorists before the April 22 attack in Pahalgam. These terrorists, identified as Pakistani nationals, were reportedly linked to the banned terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Investigators said that the accused gave the terrorists food, shelter, and other help at a seasonal hut in the Hill Park area of Pahalgam. On the day of the attack, the terrorists allegedly targeted and killed 26 people, most of them tourists, and injured 16 others. The NIA said the victims were chosen based on their religion, making the attack one of the most horrifying in recent memory.

The investigation is still ongoing as the NIA continues to uncover the larger network behind the brutal assault on Kashmir’s popular tourist destination.