Who Is Hashim Musa? Pakistani Terrorist Trained To Army Standards Behind Pahalgam Attack

SOURCE ; NEW18

Last Updated:April 29, 2025, 10:29 IST

Musa’s military background is being viewed as further evidence of the ISI’s involvement in the Pahalgam terror attack and several previous strikes in J&K. 

Probe agencies have revealed that Hashim Musa, the Pakistani terrorist behind the Pahalgam attack, underwent army-level training before being deployed to Jammu and Kashmir to carry out multiple terror operations, with a particular focus on targeting non-locals.

The sketches of the suspected terrorists released by the J&K police also had Musa’s photo, with two others, including Ali Bhai aka Talha and Adil Hussain Thokar, a local Kashmiri.

Sources indicate that Musa previously served as a para commando in the Pakistan Army’s Special Forces and is now operating as a hardcore terrorist affiliated with the Pakistan-based LeT, according to a TOI report.

“It is possible that he was loaned by Pakistan special forces, like Special Service Group (SSG), to LeT,” an officer of the security establishment was quoted as saying by TOI.

Pakistani special forces para-commandos undergo extensive training in unconventional warfare, with programs focused on building physical endurance, mental resilience, and strategic planning, enabling them to sustain effectively in harsh conditions.

Reports suggest that Musa’s military background is being viewed as further evidence of the ISI’s involvement in the Pahalgam terror attack and several previous strikes in J&K.

Earlier, a CNN-News18 report revealed that the Pahalgam attack may be connected to at least two other terror attacks from October 2024—one in Gagangir (Ganderbal), where six non-local labourers and a local doctor were killed, and another in Buta Pathri (Baramulla), which claimed the lives of two Army personnel and two Army porters.

Notably, security agencies found Musa to be a common link in all three terror attacks, including the recent Pahalgam attack. He was previously trapped in an encounter in Sopore and had managed to evade capture, according to the report.

The report added that Arbaaz Mir and Junaid Bhat, both natives of Kulgam and trained in terrorism in Pakistan, were also involved in the twin terror attacks of October 2024. They were subsequently killed in separate encounters in October and November last year.

Sources in the central security establishment revealed that Arbaaz—who was trained in Pakistan after leaving in 2018 and returned in 2022-23—was killed in Anantnag along with local terrorist Zahid Rashid.

Subsequently, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist, identified as Junaid Ahmed Bhat, was also killed in an encounter in the Dachigam area of Jammu and Kashmir in December. He was involved in civilian killings in Gagangir, Ganderbal, and multiple other terror attacks.

Location :

Jammu and Kashmir, India, India