Spike in Satellite Image Orders of Pahalgam Raises Red Flags Ahead of Deadly Terror Attack in Kashmir
New Delhi, May 10, 2025 — A troubling surge in satellite imagery orders from a U.S.-based space technology company in the lead-up to a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, has sparked national security concerns in India. The April 22 attack, which killed 26 civilians and injured dozens more, is now being linked to a suspicious pattern of high-resolution satellite image acquisitions — a pattern that went unnoticed until after the bloodshed.
Investigations have revealed that Maxar Technologies, a leading global provider of Earth imagery and geospatial intelligence, recorded an unusual spike in satellite image requests targeting Kashmir’s sensitive zones. The orders, placed between June 2024 and April 2025, were nearly double the company’s usual monthly volume for the region. Particularly alarming is the fact that 12 orders were placed between February 2 and 22, 2025, covering Pahalgam and several critical military zones including Pulwama, Anantnag, Poonch, Rajouri, and Baramulla. Additional orders followed on April 12, just ten days before the Pahalgam strike. Two more were logged on April 24 and 29, after the attack.
The timing, frequency, and focus of these requests have set off alarm bells within India’s security and scientific establishments. “These patterns aren’t random,” said a senior intelligence official familiar with the investigation. “This level of activity around militarily sensitive locations, so close to a major terrorist incident, warrants deeper scrutiny.”
What compounds the controversy is Maxar’s partnership with a Pakistani geospatial firm — Business Systems International Pvt Ltd (BSI) — that has a history of violating U.S. national security laws. BSI became a Maxar partner in early 2024. Its founder, Obaidullah Syed, a Pakistani-American businessman, was convicted by a U.S. federal court in 2022 for illegally exporting high-end computing and software equipment to Pakistan’s nuclear authority — the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) — over nearly a decade. The PAEC, widely linked to Islamabad’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, is under U.S. watchlists for national security threats.
Although it is not yet confirmed whether BSI placed or facilitated the Pahalgam orders, its association with Maxar has alarmed Indian defense analysts and ISRO insiders. “The lack of due diligence in partnering with a company tied to nuclear proliferation is a grave lapse,” said a Maxar customer and defense analyst who asked not to be named. “India should demand transparency and push for a moratorium on satellite image orders by entities connected to hostile nations.”
Maxar offers ultra high-resolution images — with clarity down to 15–30 centimeters, and in some classified capacities, even finer than 10 centimeters. At such levels, troop movements, sensitive infrastructure layouts, and even facial features can be discerned with precision. Each image can cost upwards of Rs 3 lakh, and Maxar’s clients span defense agencies, research organizations, private firms, and foreign governments. In India, subscribers include the Ministry of Defence, ISRO, and more than a dozen space tech startups.
The ISRO scientist warned that the misuse of such imagery can “weaponize geospatial data,” especially when commercial satellite images are readily available to buyers across the globe. “While India restricts access to high-resolution images under its Remote Sensing Data Policy and Geospatial Data Guidelines, foreign companies like Maxar face no such restrictions. They serve whoever pays — whether it’s a government, a private firm, or worse, a proxy,” the scientist explained.
India’s reliance on international players like Maxar stems from its still-developing military satellite constellation, especially in terms of rapid revisits, resolution, and real-time analysis capabilities. Experts believe this dependency presents a strategic vulnerability in a region where cross-border infiltration and proxy warfare are realities.
Maxar maintains an open-access platform for paying users to view satellite image orders unless they are marked confidential. However, in the case of the Pahalgam-related orders, the company has declined to disclose the buyer’s identity, citing client confidentiality. Maxar also did not respond to multiple requests for comments from Indian and international media outlets.
Meanwhile, efforts to reach Business Systems International through its Karachi headquarters and online platforms, including LinkedIn, have yielded no response. The firm, which claims to be operational since 1980, positions itself as a provider of advanced geospatial and computing solutions.
Lieutenant General (Retd), Director General of the Indian Space Association, emphasized that India must update its regulatory frameworks and technical safeguards in light of evolving threats. “Commercial satellite imagery, while immensely useful for research and governance, has dual-use implications. There must be safeguards — especially when foreign partnerships are involved.”
As the investigation into the Pahalgam attack continues, Indian intelligence agencies are reportedly collaborating with international partners to trace the digital footprints of satellite imagery requests and examine potential links to terror outfits. The case has reignited debates around the unregulated global satellite imaging market, and the urgent need for a new international code of conduct for commercial geospatial data use.
The Pahalgam tragedy is not just a reminder of terrorism’s reach — it is a wake-up call about the weaponization of data and the invisible battlefield above us.
