The investigations into the Pahalgam Terror attack have revealed that the attack was financed by a karachi based Bank.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, has found yet another link between the terrorists and Pakistan. One of the mobile phones used by the terrorists in the Pahalgam attack has been traced to a consignment imported into Pakistan with financing linked to Faysal Bank, an institution based in Karachi.
Faysal Bank has been previously linked to terror-related cases. The Faysal Bank’s shares are listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange, and it is spread over more than 360 cities across Pakistan.
Investigations have traced one of the two mobile phones used by the terrorists to a shipment imported into Pakistan in 2021. According to sources, the shipment was financed by a Karachi-based bank that has previously come under scrutiny in terror-related investigations.
The bank was earlier accused of having links to funds associated with the banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Lajnat-al-Dawa, a Kuwait-based foundation allegedly connected to Al-Qaeda. Sources also said that both mobile phones, although imported in 2021 and 2023, remained unused until shortly before the Pahalgam attack on April 22, 2025.
According to investigations by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Jammu and Kashmir Police, the attackers were carrying two Xiaomi Redmi series phones — a Redmi 9T (orange) imported in 2021 and a Redmi Note 12 (black) imported in 2023. The phones were recovered from three attackers — Faisal Jatt alias Suleiman Shah, Habeeb Tahir alias Jibran, and Hamza Afghani — after they were killed in an encounter at Mulnar Mahadev in the Dachigam Forest area of Jammu and Kashmir on July 28, 2025.
After seeking details from Xiaomi Global, investigators found that the Redmi 9T was part of a shipment imported by a Pakistan-based company, Tech Sirat Pvt Ltd, which operates from Clifton Road in Karachi. Sources said Xiaomi records show that the shipment was delivered in Pakistan on January 1, 2021. The logistics details listed “Faysal Bank” and recorded the delivery address as “Faysal House, Main Branch, Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi, Pakistan.”
This address belongs to Faysal Bank Ltd, one of Pakistan’s leading Islamic banks. Sources believe the bank financed the import through standard trade financing arrangements such as letters of credit, which banks commonly provide for large import consignments.
According to an officer familiar with the investigation, the shipment was likely received by Tech Sirat, but documents show delivery to the bank because it financed the transaction. Investigators suspect that the phone later used in the Pahalgam attack may have been diverted from the shipment and eventually reached Lashkar-e-Taiba. The officer said the phone was never switched on after its import in 2021 until it was allegedly used during preparations for the attack.
While investigators have found no evidence linking Faysal Bank directly to the Pahalgam attack, the bank has appeared in previous terror-related investigations. A 2007 New York Times report stated that court documents related to the 9/11 attacks showed that two organisations designated by the United States for supporting terrorism had maintained accounts at Faysal Bank. These organisations included Lashkar-e-Taiba and Lajnat-al-Dawa.
The same report noted that lawyers representing the bank’s holding company denied any connection with terrorist organisations and stated that the accounts were frozen as soon as the account holders were designated or banned by authorities.
A 2002 report by the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, later referenced by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), said Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency had begun collecting details of bank accounts linked to several banned organisations, including LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), and others. The report stated that these groups maintained accounts in several commercial and nationalised banks, including Faysal Bank.
The second phone recovered from the attackers, a Redmi Note 12, was imported by Air Link Communications Ltd, based in Lahore. Sources said this phone also remained inactive until shortly before the Pahalgam attack.
Investigators have not been able to recover communication records from the phones because the terrorists reportedly used long-range radio communication systems instead of mobile networks or the internet. However, authorities recovered several photographs and maps from the devices, including images of Baisaran Meadows in Pahalgam and nearby areas.
One of the photographs shows a tent allegedly set up by the terrorists on March 30, 2025, several weeks before the attack that killed 26 people. The tent, which appears to be located on elevated ground and includes a visible stove, may have provided the attackers with a strategic advantage by allowing them to monitor the movement of security forces.
