Shocking Revelation: U.S. Company Linked to Pakistani Convict Supplied Satellite Images of Pahalgam Before Terror Attack
In a startling development, it has emerged that a U.S.-based satellite imagery company with ties to a Pakistani convict supplied high-resolution images of sensitive regions in Jammu and Kashmir—including Pahalgam—just days before the deadly terrorist attack on April 21 that claimed 26 lives.
Satellite surveillance has become the backbone of modern intelligence, aiding in monitoring weapons facilities, infrastructure, troop movements, smuggling routes, and even facial recognition in public spaces. High-resolution satellite images, especially those with clarity down to 30 centimeters, are often used to plan precision strikes and surveillance operations.
Among the leading companies in this domain is Maxar Technologies, a U.S.-based firm that operates some of the world’s most advanced Earth-observation satellites. Maxar’s services are widely used, including by Ukraine in the war against Russia, and by several Indian government agencies such as the Ministry of Defence, ISRO, and private space-tech startups.
Between February 2 and February 22 this year, Maxar received orders for high-resolution satellite images of several sensitive areas in Jammu and Kashmir, including Pahalgam, Anantnag, Poonch, Rajouri, and Baramulla. What’s raising eyebrows is that a specific order for Pahalgam was placed on April 12, just ten days before the terrorist attack in the area.
While it is yet to be officially confirmed whether these images were used to plan the attack, the timing has fueled suspicion. Intelligence sources believe there is enough reason to bring Maxar’s operations under scrutiny by Indian intelligence agencies.
Adding to the controversy is Maxar’s 2024 partnership with Business Systems International Pvt Ltd (BSI), a Pakistani company headquartered in Karachi and run by Obaidullah Syed, a convicted criminal. BSI operates in cities like Lahore, Islamabad, and Faisalabad and supplies high-resolution satellite images, including 2D, 3D, and 4D imagery using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology.
Syed was convicted in a U.S. federal court for illegally exporting high-performance computing equipment and software applications to the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)—an organization involved in the development and testing of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Syed pleaded guilty to exporting goods without proper authorization and submitting false documentation between 2006 and 2015. He was sentenced to 366 days in prison.
What’s more troubling is that Maxar openly lists BSI as its authorized reseller in Pakistan on its official website. This raises national security concerns about the potential misuse of commercial satellite data, especially when accessed by entities with a history of illegal dealings with military and nuclear organizations.
Maxar’s satellite data also indicates an unusual spike in “deployment activity” around Pahalgam in the weeks leading up to the attack, adding weight to the theory that these images could have aided the planning.
The revelation poses serious questions about the role of commercial satellite imagery in national defense and whether adequate safeguards are in place to prevent such critical data from falling into the wrong hands.
