Lashkar, Jaish scatter terror camps across Pakistan to evade Indian strikes

New Delhi: Terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed have launched a major expansion drive across Pakistan, setting up smaller training facilities to decentralise their operations and reduce the risk of their infrastructure being wiped out in future strikes, intelligence sources said.

The Muridke camp, destroyed during Operation Sindoor last year, is no longer the primary training facility of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The outfit has instead been establishing smaller training camps in different parts of Pakistan, particularly in Punjab province.

Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has adopted a similar approach and is also rapidly expanding its recruitment activities, the sources said.

An Intelligence Bureau official said the developments indicate a strategic shift, with terror camps being distributed across the country rather than concentrated in a single location.

The Muridke training camp and the Jaish headquarters in Bahawalpur have been rebuilt with the assistance of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Army, which have provided substantial financial support, officials said.

“While these facilities remain operational, the scale of activity has come down drastically. These hold more symbolic value today,” the official said.

Another official said the establishment of mini training camps by LeT and JeM was intended to serve a purpose beyond expanding recruitment across Pakistan. The ISI has deliberately adopted the decentralised model so that even if some camps are targeted or destroyed, others can continue operating, the official said.

“Post Operation Sindoor, there was a lull in activities by the Jaish and Lashkar. This was because the cadre had become demoralised and massive terror infrastructure had been destroyed,” the official said.

Another official said the ISI was keen to avoid a repeat of that situation, as rebuilding infrastructure and restoring the morale of cadres posed significant challenges.

The disruption has also affected terror-related activities targeting India, with Jammu and Kashmir being a key example. Infiltration has become increasingly difficult, leading to a significant decline in the number of battle-hardened Pakistani terrorists operating in the Valley, officials said.

The ISI has been struggling to resume its operations and is now relying on mini training camps across Pakistan to rebuild its network, they said.

“This would ensure that terror operations continue without a break even if there is a big hit on some of the training terror camps,” the official added.

Until recently, a substantial portion of LeT and JeM recruitment was carried out in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). However, unrest in the region has disrupted the ISI's operations there, prompting a new directive to the two outfits to recruit from across Pakistan.

The plan is to recruit more than 1,000 terrorists and train them at the mini camps spread across the country. The recruits would then be kept on standby and moved to PoK before being sent into Jammu and Kashmir when an infiltration window opens, officials said.

More than 500 terrorists are currently believed to be stationed at launchpads in PoK. However, amid the ongoing unrest in Pakistan, the country's security apparatus is finding it difficult to maintain close surveillance of these locations, which require extensive security arrangements.

As a result, the terrorists at the launchpads have been left exposed, while the security establishment's focus has shifted towards managing the unrest rather than facilitating infiltration attempts, officials said.

In the past, security agencies would be deployed in full strength to oversee infiltration operations. Such activity is currently not taking place due to protests that have continued for nearly three months, the sources said.

The ISI has also brought several Hamas leaders to Pakistan in recent years and plans to deploy Hamas operatives at the mini training camps, officials said. Their involvement is intended to give recruits greater battlefield exposure.

The officials said the proliferation of smaller camps would make it more difficult for Indian agencies to track terror infrastructure. The ISI also plans to close camps after training programmes are completed and establish new facilities at different locations, further reducing the risk of detection and targeted strikes. IANS