Lashkar, Other Pakistani Terror Groups Shifting Bases to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Post Operation Sindoor: Sources

Following the success of India's Operation Sindoor, which targeted and inflicted significant damage on terror bases in Pakistan, terrorist organizations, including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), are relocating their training and accommodation centers to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK).

Photos and videos of under-construction buildings, intended to serve as terrorist training centers, have surfaced, confirming these developments.

Last week, reports indicated that Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) were shifting their terror training and accommodation centers to KPK. Recent reports suggest that the UN-designated terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Pakistan’s largest state-sponsored terrorist group, has also begun moving its terror bases from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Punjab, far from the Jammu and Kashmir border, likely to evade future Indian strikes.

The photos and videos indicate that LeT is constructing a new terror training and residential center, Markaz Jihad-e-Aqsa, in the Kumban Maidan area of Lower Dir district, approximately 47 kilometers from the Afghan border.According to reports, construction began in July 2025, two months after Operation Sindoor.

The facility occupies approximately 4,643 square feet of vacant land adjacent to LeT’s recently built Jamia Ahle Sunnah mosque, reflecting LeT’s historical practice of operating training infrastructure under the guise of religious institutions to avoid scrutiny, reports said.

Command of the new center has been entrusted to Nasr Javed, co-mastermind of the 2006 Hyderabad blast in India, who previously ran LeT’s Dulai training camp in PoK from 2004 to 2015 and is currently involved with LeT’s fundraising arm, Khidmat-e-Khalq (formerly the UN-banned Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation), according to reports.

Muhammad Yasin (alias Bilal Bhai) has been tasked with doctrinal instruction in jihad, while operational weapons training responsibilities have been assigned to Anas Ullah Khan, who trained at LeT’s Garhi Habibullah camp in 2016, reports said.

Once operational, Markaz Jihad-e-Aqsa is expected to run two primary training programs, Daura-e-Khas and Daura-e-Lashkar, and serve as a replacement hub for LeT’s Jaan-e-Fidai Fidayeen unit following the destruction of the Markaz Ahle Hadith facility at Bhimber-Barnala by the Indian Army on May 7, 2025, which previously specialized in Fidayeen preparation. Due to this targeting during Operation Sindoor, the camp has been relocated to Lower Dir to avoid future Indian strikes. However, sources from the Indian Army claim they have the capability to target such distant locations if required to protect national interests and security.

The relocation and expansion of LeT, JeM, and HM facilities in KPK suggest coordinated or parallel initiatives, likely under the guidance of Pakistan’s ISI Special Operations Directorate, to evade Indian intelligence monitoring, sources said.

In addition to Markaz Jihad-e-Aqsa, LeT is reportedly planning to expand existing camps at Markaz-e-Khyber, Garhi Habibullah, and Batrasi to restore its recruitment, training, and residential operations after the destruction of its previous facilities in PoK and Punjab, including Gulpur Kotli, Shwai Nala, Bhimber-Barnala, and the Muridke headquarters.

While LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) are known to coordinate and share training facilities in PoK, in Lower Dir, the new under-construction camps of LeT and HM are just 4 kilometers apart, suggesting potential operational coordination or strategic co-location, sources said.

Ironically, since June 2025, the Pakistani Army and Air Force have reportedly killed more than 40 civilians in airstrikes, officially claiming these operations aim to make Khyber Pakhtunkhwa terror-free. In reality, these operations appear focused on eliminating militants hostile to the Pakistani state while facilitating the establishment of anti-India terror groups in the same region, reflecting Pakistan’s long-standing strategy of endorsing “good terrorism” while combating “bad terrorism.”

LeT’s new training center is expected to be completed by December 2025.Although still under construction, it is already emerging as a hub for recruitment, radicalization, and large-scale terrorist training, sources said.

The adjacent Markaz Jamia Ahle Sunnah mosque is approximately 80% complete, yet LeT has diverted all its resources and funds toward building the Jihad-e-Aqsa training center, underscoring the urgency and priority placed on establishing this facility, sources said.