Investigators traced one phone used in the 2025 Pahalgam attack to a Pakistan import consignment financed through Faysal Bank.
Both Xiaomi phones recovered from the attackers reportedly remained inactive for years until shortly before the attack.
Forensic analysis recovered maps and photographs from the devices, while investigators said the attackers used long-range radio systems instead of mobile networks.
Investigators probing the 2025 Pahalgam attack have traced one of the two cellphones used by the attackers to a consignment imported into Pakistan in 2021 and financed through Faysal Bank, according to an Indian Express report.
The phone was allegedly linked to a consignment imported by Karachi-based Tech Sirat Pvt Ltd. Investigators from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Jammu and Kashmir Police found that the Redmi 9T handset used by the attackers had been imported into Pakistan on January 1, 2021.
Sources cited by Indian Express said the consignment records listed “Faysal House, Main Branch, Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi” as the delivery address, corresponding to the official address of Faysal Bank. Investigators believe the bank financed the shipment through standard import credit arrangements.
Terror Phones Stayed Inactive Until Before Attack
According to investigators, the attackers carried two Xiaomi phones — a Redmi 9T and a Redmi Note 12 — both of which remained inactive for years until shortly before the April 22, 2025 attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people.
The phones were recovered after three alleged attackers — Faisal Jatt alias Suleiman Shah, Habeeb Tahir alias Jibran, and Hamza Afghani — were killed in an encounter at Dachigam Forest on July 28, 2025.
A second Redmi Note 12 phone was traced to a consignment imported by Lahore-based Air Link Communications Ltd.
Investigators said no conventional communication data could be retrieved from the devices because the terrorists allegedly relied on long-range radio communication systems instead of cellular or internet-based services.
However, forensic teams reportedly recovered maps, photographs and reconnaissance material from the phones, including images of Baisaran Meadows and nearby areas. One image allegedly showed a tent camp set up by the attackers on March 30, 2025, weeks before the assault.
Bank Previously Named In Terror Financing Allegations
While investigators said there is no direct evidence linking Faysal Bank to the attack itself, the bank has previously surfaced in terror financing-related reports.
An earlier New York Times report from 2007 had alleged that accounts linked to proscribed groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Lajnat al-Dawa were maintained at the bank before being frozen.
A 2002 report by Pakistani newspaper Dawn, later cited by the South Asia Terrorism Portal, had also claimed that several banned extremist outfits maintained accounts across multiple Pakistani banks, including Faysal Bank.
