Delhi: In a major crackdown on terror support networks operating in Jammu and Kashmir, a Special Court of the National Investigation Agency in Delhi has sentenced two overground workers linked to the banned Pakistan-backed outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba in connection with a 2016 infiltration conspiracy case. The court awarded them up to 15 years of imprisonment for aiding a heavily armed Pakistani terrorist who had entered Indian territory with plans to execute attacks in the Valley and beyond.
The convicts, Zahoor Ahmed Peer and Nazeer Ahmad Peer, both residents of Handwara in Kupwara district, were found guilty under multiple provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The court sentenced them to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment under Sections 18 and 19 of the Act, along with nine years under Section 39. All sentences will run concurrently, meaning the maximum jail term will be 15 years. In addition, each of the convicts has been fined ₹1.5 lakh.
The case stems from a larger conspiracy uncovered in 2016 when Pakistani national Bahadur Ali alias Saifullah infiltrated into Kupwara district along with other terrorists. The group was reportedly armed with sophisticated weapons, explosives, communication devices, navigation tools, and night-vision equipment. Investigators found that the infiltrators were in constant contact with handlers based in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, receiving instructions to carry out coordinated terror strikes in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India, including Delhi.
Security forces arrested Bahadur Ali on July 25, 2016, thwarting what officials described as a potentially devastating terror plot. Two other infiltrators, Abu Saad and Abu Darda, were later neutralised in separate encounters. The NIA had filed a chargesheet against Bahadur Ali in January 2017, and after he pleaded guilty, he was convicted in March 2021 under provisions of the IPC, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Arms Act, the Explosives Act, the Explosive Substances Act, and the Foreigners Act.
During further investigation, the agency uncovered evidence that Zahoor and Nazeer had provided safe shelter, food, and logistical assistance to Bahadur Ali. They also facilitated his meetings with other foreign terrorists operating in the Kashmir Valley. The two were arrested in September 2017 and chargesheeted in March 2018.
The court had convicted them in December 2025 and pronounced the sentence on February 13, 2026. Officials said the judgment delivers a significant blow to the network of overground workers accused of assisting foreign terrorists in the region, reinforcing the government’s resolve to dismantle terror infrastructure at every level.
