India, July 15 -- The terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, in which 26 people were killed, was a "closely guarded conspiracy" by Pakistan's ISI and terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) on the directions of the country's political and military brass, The Times of India reported on Tuesday, citing security sources.

The sources said the Inter-Services Intelligence gave specific directions to Pakistan-based Lashkar commander Sajid Jutt to deploy only foreign terrorists and to ensure complete secrecy, no Kashmiri terrorists were taken on board.

They also said foreign terrorists of the LeT, operating in J&K for some time, were told to execute the killings while ensuring minimal local involvement on a "need-to-know" basis, according to...