Who Is Mohammad Katari, Teacher Arrested For Helping Pahalgam Terrorists

Mohammad Yousuf Katari has been arrested.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday apprehended a 26-year-old individual in relation to the devastating Pahalgam terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 26 tourists, including one citizen from Nepal, on April 22.

Officials report that the accused, Mohammad Yousuf Katari, was captured following an intelligence tip in South Kashmir's Kulgam district.

Who is Mohammad Yousuf Katari?

According to officials, Katari works professionally as a teacher but simultaneously functioned as an Over Ground Worker in Kulgam.

He is suspected of maintaining connections with the Pakistan-based terrorist organization Laskar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Officials indicate that Katari played a role in providing logistical assistance to the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack, who were subsequently neutralized during Operation Mahadev.

Investigators identified Katari after analyzing equipment and weaponry recovered from LeT terrorists eliminated during Operation Mahadev.

Operation Mahadev was conducted over several weeks, beginning on May 22, when security forces received intelligence regarding terrorist presence in Dachigam near Srinagar. Three terrorists, including the Pahalgam attack's mastermind, were eliminated during this operation.

Officials reported that AK-47 and M9 assault rifles were among the weapons seized from the terrorists' hideout. These weapons were sent to a Chandigarh laboratory for analysis, where reports confirmed the firearms were used in the Pahalgam attack.

Pahalgam Terror Attack, Operation Sindoor

The terrorist attack in Baisaran - nicknamed 'mini Switzerland' for its meadow landscape - in Pahalgam on April 22 resulted in the deaths of twenty-five tourists (24 Indians and one Nepali) along with a local resident. Among the casualties were an Indian Navy officer and an Intelligence Bureau personnel.

This was the most lethal attack in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama incident. The Resistance Front, a shadow organization of LeT, claimed responsibility.

Subsequently, during the night between May 6 and 7, the Indian Air Force executed precision strikes that destroyed infrastructure across nine terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). This response was codenamed Operation Sindoor and conducted in retaliation for the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Following Pakistan's response, both countries engaged in strikes and counter-strikes over three consecutive nights. On May 10, India and Pakistan reached an agreement to cease all firing and military operations on land, air, and sea, effective from 5pm.