NEW DELHI, February 14, 2026 : A Special Court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has sentenced two overground workers (OGWs) of the Pakistan Army-backed banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to a maximum of 15 years’ rigorous imprisonment for providing logistical support to infiltrated Pakistani terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.
The convicts—Zahoor Ahmed Peer and Nazir Ahmad Peer, residents of Handwara in Kupwara district—were found guilty of harbouring a heavily armed Pakistani terrorist, supplying shelter, food, and logistics to facilitate terror activities in the Valley.
The court sentenced both under Sections 18 and 19 (terrorist acts and conspiracy) and Section 39 (support to terrorist organisations) of the UA(P) Act. While they received 15 years under Sections 18 and 19 and nine years under Section 39, all sentences will run concurrently, capping imprisonment at 15 years. Each convict was also fined ₹1.5 lakh.
The case stems from a larger LeT conspiracy involving Bahadur Ali alias Saifullah, a Pakistani national who infiltrated into Kupwara in 2016 with a group equipped with sophisticated arms, explosives, navigation and night-vision devices. The group remained in contact with handlers in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, planning attacks in J&K and elsewhere, including Delhi. Bahadur Ali was arrested on July 25, 2016, while two associates were later neutralised by security forces.
Following further investigation, NIA uncovered the role of the two OGWs in arranging safe houses, logistics, and meetings for the infiltrated terrorists. Arrested in September 2017 and chargesheeted in March 2018, the duo was convicted on December 18, 2025, with sentencing pronounced today—dealing a significant blow to the OGW network in Kashmir.
