The National Investigation Agency (NIA) was granted a 5-day remand of the two men who were arrested for sheltering the Pakistani terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
The two accused, Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar from Batkote and Bashir Ahmad Jothar of Hill Park in Pahalgam, were produced in the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge, Jammu, Ritesh Kumar Dubey, and were sent to NIA custody for five days till June 27, a court official said.
NIA arrested the duo on Sunday, a major breakthrough in the investigations into the Pahalgam attack that left 26 people dead and 16 injured.
As per the investigating agency, Parvaiz and Bashir had knowingly harboured the three armed terrorists at a seasonal dhok (hut) at Hill Park before the attack. They provided the attackers with food, shelter and logistical support, who went on to attack people, mostly tourists, in Pahalgam.
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NIA also mentioned that the arrested accused disclosed the identities of the three armed terrorists involved in the attack, and have also confirmed that they were Pakistani nationals affiliated to the banned terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
What followed after the terrorist attack was a diplomatic and military escalation between India and Pakistan, with New Delhi taking a slew of punitive measures, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and the closing of the Wagah land border.
