 "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), in New Delhi. ANI")
In a powerful address to the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday (July 29) detailed the success of Operation Mahadev, which culminated in the elimination of three terrorists responsible for the brutal Pahalgam attack on April 22.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X to commend Shah’s speech, highlighting the critical role played by both Operation Mahadev and Operation Sindoor in neutralising terrorist threats and reinforcing the government’s commitment to national security.
“In this remarkable speech in the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Amit Shah Ji gives important details about Operation Sindoor and Operation Mahadev, which have played a vital role in eliminating cowardly terrorists. His address also focuses on our Government’s efforts towards keeping our nation secure,” PM Modi wrote in his post on X.
The operation, executed on Monday in Jammu and Kashmir, resulted in the elimination of three terrorists, including Suleiman, a Lashkar commander, along with Afghan and Jibran, who were identified as the masterminds behind the Pahalgam attack.
Shah revealed that meticulous planning began mere hours after the April 22 attack, with a clear directive to security forces to ensure the terrorists could not flee the country. The operation was a coordinated effort involving the Indian Army, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
Shah disclosed that ballistic tests conducted at Chandigarh’s Forensic Science Laboratory confirmed that the weapons recovered from the terrorists—an M9 carbine and two AK-47s—were the same used in the Pahalgam killings.
The Home Minister also credited the success of Operation Mahadev to intelligence gathered by the Intelligence Bureau (IB), which pinpointed the terrorists’ location in the Dachigam area on May 22. “The IB and the army soldiers continuously worked on capturing signals of the ultra system [a Chinese encrypted communication system]. Finally, on July 22, the sensors established their exact location, and then the Army’s 4 Para, J&K police, and CRPF joined hands. They were finally killed yesterday [Monday],” Shah said.
The identities of the terrorists were further verified by Parvaiz Jothar and Bashir Jothar, who allegedly provided shelter to the group. Shah highlighted the precision of the operation, noting, “We sent human assets who had seen their faces, who identified their bodies and confirmed that they were the ones who shot innocent tourists in Baisaran Valley on April 22.”
Operation Mahadev was not an isolated effort. Shah also referenced Operation Sindoor , which targeted the terrorists’ handlers earlier, and India’s broader response to the April 22 attack, which included strikes on nine terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7, leading to a four-day military exchange.