Srinagar: Media sources claim that Pahalgam terrorists used the Android smartphone app Alpine Quest to reach Baisaran Valley.
The terrorists used the app to get to the location hiding in Pahalgam’s thick forest areas.
The Pakistan Army was allegedly the driving force behind the changes in this mobile application. The terrorists also received hands-on training on using this application.
Alpine Quest functions both online and offline, and this program allows anyone to construct a route. The app functions without Internet connectivity and allows navigation through rivers, mountains and forests.
This is precisely why the terrorists managed to hoodwink security personnel to reach the scene of the tragedy at Baisaran Valley.
While a normal Google Map would not have allowed such unhindered access, the Alpine Quest app undertook several modifications which helped the terrorists.
The app helped terrorists to remain in contact with each other. In addition, they were using encrypted radio devices.
The investigators, too, are now leveraging the same digital footprints to track the terrorists. They have discovered that monitoring of the terrorists was done from safe houses in Muzaffarabad and Karachi.
This app enables all map-related data to be saved and shared offline. Terrorists prefer using this app to keep themselves incommunicado.
The Alpine Quest app has also been used by terrorists to trigger other attacks in Jammu & Kashmir.
