Three suspected militants killed in a gunfight in Kashmir were behind a deadly shooting spree earlier this year that left over two dozen people dead and triggered a military confrontation between India and Pakistan, an Indian government official said Tuesday.
Home Minister Amit Shah, addressing the lower house of Parliament, said the three men — all Pakistani nationals — were killed Monday in a joint operation by Indian military, paramilitary, and police forces on the outskirts of Srinagar, the region’s main city. The Associated Press was unable to independently confirm the claim.
Shah said cartridges recovered from the scene matched those used in the April massacre. According to him, the bodies were identified by local residents who had previously sheltered and fed the militants.
It remains unclear whether those locals are being treated as accomplices. Pakistan’s government has yet to respond officially.
However, state-run Pakistan Radio, in a report following Monday’s encounter, accused India of staging "fake encounters" involving Pakistani nationals held in Indian jails. No further evidence was provided to support the claim.
Islamabad has long alleged that Indian forces orchestrate staged shootouts in Kashmir, sometimes using Pakistani prisoners to portray them as militants. India, in turn, has consistently denied these accusations, accusing Pakistan of sending armed fighters across the border to foment violence.
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The April 22 massacre, which killed 26 people most of them Hindu tourists was one of the deadliest in the region in recent years. India blamed the attack on Pakistan, which denied any involvement and called for an independent investigation.
The incident sparked cross-border military exchanges that brought the two nuclear-armed neighbors to the verge of their third war over Kashmir. The four-day confrontation ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire on May 10, after leaving dozens dead on both sides. It was the worst escalation in decades.
Prior to the April attack in the resort town of Pahalgam, the level of violence in Kashmir had significantly decreased.
In recent years, clashes were mostly concentrated in the mountainous Jammu region rather than the Kashmir Valley, which has historically been the core of the anti-India insurgency.
India and Pakistan both administer parts of the Himalayan territory of Kashmir but claim it in full. An armed rebellion has been ongoing in the Indian-administered part of the region since 1989. New Delhi accuses Islamabad of backing and arming militant groups — an allegation Pakistan denies.
Many Muslim residents of Indian-controlled Kashmir support the rebels’ cause, seeking either unification with Pakistan or complete independence. The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives, including civilians, militants, and security personnel.