Nepal President's Advisor Makes Big Claim: Pakistan Terrorists Using Nepal As Transit Route To Attack India

In a startling claim, Sunil Thapa, Advisor to Nepal President Ram Chandra Poudel, stated that Nepal might be used as a transit point by Pakistan-based terrorist organizations—Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)—posing a significant risk to India.

He made the statement during a seminar organised by the Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement (NIICE) in Kathmandu on July 9. 

This statement comes amid India’s ongoing crackdown on Pakistan-sponsored terror elements following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 and India’s subsequent retaliation under Operation Sindoor.

Lashkar-e-Taiba is believed to be behind the Pahalgam attack in Kashmir. The Resistance Front (TRF), a Pakistani terrorist group with close ties to LeT, initially claimed responsibility for the attack but later retracted its statement.

Advisor Thapa emphasized the threat posed to India, citing the historical ties between LeT, JeM, and Al-Qaeda—terrorist outfits that operate from Pakistan.

Al-Qaeda is a militant Islamist organization founded by Osama bin Laden in the late 1980s.

Thapa’s claim has placed authorities on high alert. Experts have stressed the urgent need to address this issue to prevent any attempts to harm India.

Regarding this, Defence expert Captain G.D. Bakshi told Republic, “For quite some time, Nepal has been used as a staging point for attacks on India. The hijacking of the Indian civilian aircraft (hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC-814 in 1999) was orchestrated from Nepal. Because our borders are now well-fenced and tightly guarded—no unauthorized flights can get through—they [terrorists] have been forced to use large drones to transport ammunition, IEDs, drugs, money, and weapons. Nepal is a major transit point, and in coordination with the Nepalese government, we must launch a crackdown to prevent any further terror attacks or attempts to harm India.”

The IC-814 aircraft, which was en route from Kathmandu to New Delhi, was hijacked by armed terrorists who boarded the flight from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport.

In the past, many Pakistan-based operatives have been nabbed by security forces while illegally trying to enter India through Nepal.

About Lashkar-e-Taiba

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is a Pakistani Islamist militant organization founded in the mid-1980s by Hafiz Saeed and several other Islamist mujahideen, with funding from Osama bin Laden. It is responsible for several major terrorist attacks, including the 2000 Red Fort attack, the 2005 Delhi bombings, the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, and the 2008 Mumbai attacks. LeT has been designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations.

About Jaish-e-Mohammed

Like LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) is a Pakistani Islamist militant group active in India’s Kashmir Valley since 2000. Since its inception, the organization has carried out numerous terrorist attacks on civilian, economic, and military targets in India. It maintains close ties with the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, and Indian Mujahideen.

Despite being banned in Pakistan in 2002, JeM continues to operate under different names within the country.

Both LeT and JeM have received support from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s intelligence agency, and are widely regarded as proxy militant organizations used by Pakistan against India.

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