The phone that stayed silent for Four years: New twist in Pahalgam Terror Investigation

For nearly four years, it remained completely silent. No calls, no messages and no internet activity.
Then, just weeks before one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir in recent years, the phone suddenly came to life.

Now, that single device has become one of the most crucial pieces of evidence in the investigation into the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people and shook the nation. Investigators probing the attack have uncovered a trail that stretches beyond India’s borders and into Pakistan. At the centre of this trail is a Xiaomi Redmi 9T mobile phone allegedly used by the terrorists involved in the attack.

According to the investigators, the device was imported into Pakistan in January 2021 as part of a larger shipment. The consignment was reportedly financed by Karachi-based Faysal Bank, a financial institution that has previously appeared in investigations related to alleged terror financing networks.

What drew investigators' attention was not where the phone came from, but how it was used after arriving in Pakistan

Despite entering Pakistan in 2021, the device remained switched off and inactive for nearly four years. Investigators say it was activated only shortly before the Pahalgam attack was carried out in April 2025. That timeline has raised serious questions among security agencies.

Who kept the device hidden for so long? Was it deliberately preserved for a future mission? And who ensured it eventually reached the attackers?

Officials from the National Investigation Agency(NIA) and the Jammu and Kashmir Police believe the phone may have been separated from the original consignment and stored for a specific operational purpose. Investigators suspect that the device was earmarked for use in a terror operation long before the attack itself was executed.

The mystery deepened with the discovery of a second phone.

A Redmi Note 12 recovered during the investigation was traced to a separate shipment imported into Pakistan in 2023 through a Lahore-based communications company. Like the Redmi 9T, this device also remained largely inactive until the weeks leading up to the attack.

The striking similarity between the two phones has strengthened investigators’ belief that both devices were procured, stored and later distributed as part of a carefully planned operation.

The phones came into the possession of security agencies after three terrorists- Suleiman Shah, Habeeb Tahir alias Jibran, and Hamza Afghani were killed during an encounter in the Mulnar Mahadev area of Dachigam Forest in July 2025. Since then, Forensic experts have been working to unlock every possible clue hidden inside the devices.

While tracing their origins proved successful, extracting communication records has been far more challenging. Investigators say the terrorists relied extensively on long-range radio systems instead of conventional mobile communications, leaving behind very little call or internet data.

Yet the phones still revealed critical information.

Forensic teams recovered photographs, maps and location-based informatin that could provide insights into how the attack was planned. Among the most significant discoveries was an image allegedly showing a tent set up in the Baisaran Meadows area on March 30, nearly three weeks before the attack.

Investigators believe the site may have served as a surveillance point, allowing the attackers to study tourist movement, observe security deployment and identify potential vulnerabilities before striking.

The financial trail linked to the imported phones has now become a major focus of the investigation. While officials have clarified that there is currently no direct evidence connecting Faysal Bank to the attack itself, they are examining whether the transactions associated with the phone imports could help identify facilitators, handlers or logistical supporters involved in the broader conspiracy.

As the investigation moves forward, these two mobile phones are proving to be far more than electronic devices. They are silent witnesses to a terror plot that may have been years in the making.

And for investigators trying to uncover who planned, funded and facilitated the Pahalgam attack, the answers may lie inside a phone that remained switched off for four years before becoming active at exactly the right moment.