Pahalgam Attack: Terrorists Used Chinese Apps, Devices to Contact Pak Handlers

In a major finding in the probe into the Pahalgam terror attack, intelligence sources revealed to CNN-News18 that terrorists were using encrypted Chinese messaging apps to communicate with their handlers based in Pakistan. These apps, prohibited in India following the 2020 Galwan clashes, are heavily encrypted and difficult to decipher.

Investigators have also picked up the trace of a Chinese satellite phone around the area at the time of the attack. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), taking over the probe now, is following up both these leads to uncover the wider terror conspiracy.

How Terror Groups Use Technology

Terror groups such as Lashkar and Jaish are increasingly using advanced communication tools that are almost untraceable, intelligence officials say. Some of the most significant technologies used include:

• End-to-End Encryption (E2EE): Messages are encrypted such that only the specific sender and receiver can access them.
• Quantum-Resistant Algorithms: Encryption techniques that even quantum computers have difficulty in breaking.
• Steganography: Methods of concealing messages inside innocuous-looking files such as images and videos.

These techniques are usually combined with burst transmission technology transmitting data in milliseconds to evade detection and frequency hopping, which quickly alters radio frequencies to make interception more difficult.

Satellite phones operated by such organizations function via non-terrestrial networks such as Iridium, enabling them to circumvent local communication infrastructure altogether.

Terror networks continuously evolve the tools to counter earlier vulnerabilities. For instance, while ISIS had at some point depended mostly on Telegram, it was hindered when agencies took advantage of metadata. Al-Qaeda, however, had employed steganography embedded in pornographic websites, which was eventually broken by the FBI. Likewise, Indian agencies have been able to intercept Kashmiri militants using Thuraya satellite phones and WhatsApp groups in the past.

China’s Stand on Pahalgam Attack

Meanwhile, diplomatic news reports that China has expressed its support for Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke over the phone with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Muhammad Ishaq Dar.

During the call, China is said to have expressed its concern about the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan and called for an “impartial investigation” into the attack.

The Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed the meeting in a press release on X, saying that Dar briefed Yi on the situation in the region. Dar also said China “rejected India’s unilateral and illegal actions, as well as its baseless propaganda against Pakistan.”

Commitment to Regional Stability

Dar proceeded to express gratitude towards China for its unflinching support and reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to their ‘All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership’. The two countries emphasized the need for regional peace and stability.

They also declared their strong commitment to maintaining regional peace, advancing mutual respect and understanding, and together resisting unilateralism and hegemony. China and Pakistan also committed to maintaining close communication and coordination at all levels to further their common vision of peace, security, and sustainable development in the region and beyond.