Sheikh Sajjad Gul, identified as the mastermind behind the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, studied in Karnataka and Kerala before becoming involved with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) proxy, The Resistance Front (TRF), in Kashmir.
Gul, also known as Sajjad Ahmed Sheikh, is reportedly hiding in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, under the protection of the LeT. He has been linked to several terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir, including targeted killings in Central and South Kashmir from 2020 to 2024, grenade attacks in Central Kashmir in 2023, and ambushes on J&K police personnel in Bijbehra, Gagangir, and the Z-Morh Tunnel in Ganderbal.
Designated a terrorist by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in April 2022, Gul carries a Rs 10 lakh bounty. Investigators probing the Pahalgam attack have traced communication links back to him, confirming his involvement in orchestrating the attack. The TRF, which claimed responsibility for the massacre, is believed to have acted on his orders.
According to officials, the terrorists interrogated tourists about their religion before shooting 25 of them at point-blank range. A local guide who attempted to protect the victims was also killed.
Sources say Gul has been a key asset for Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI, acting as a Kashmiri front for the predominantly Punjabi-led LeT. He was educated in Srinagar, earned an MBA in Bangalore, and later pursued a lab technician course in Kerala. Upon returning to Kashmir, he set up a diagnostic lab, which he used to provide logistical support to the terror group.
Gul's ties to terrorism date back over two decades. In 2002, he was arrested by Delhi Police's Special Cell at Nizamuddin Railway Station with 5 kg of RDX. He was reportedly conducting reconnaissance for a series of planned bombings in the capital. He was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2003.
After his release in 2017, Gul moved to Pakistan, where the ISI appointed him to lead the TRF in 2019. This move was part of Pakistan's strategy to create the illusion of an indigenous terror group in Jammu and Kashmir, especially after the 2019 Pulwama attack, which drew global condemnation of Pakistan's support for terror organizations like LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).
Gul's family has a history of militant involvement. His brother, a former doctor at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital in Srinagar, was a militant in the 1990s. After fleeing to Saudi Arabia and later Pakistan, he is now reportedly involved in terror financing with fugitives based in the Gulf.
