Operation Sindoor II: After beseeching for ‘ceasefire,’ Pak rebuilding terror assets
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Weeks after beseeching for a ‘ceasefire’ with India, and learning no lesson from Operation Sindoor, Islamabad has started rebuilding terror camps and launchpads destroyed in mainland Pakistan as well as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the May 7 missile strikes, the media reported on Saturday.
The Pakistan Army, its ISI wing, and government agencies were reported to be rebuilding and upgrading terrorist launchpads and camps destroyed during India’s highly-successful Operation Sindoor, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi said has only been halted and will resume if Pakistan launches another terror attack.
Smaller, tech-equipped camps are being built to avoid detection, surveillance and airstrikes, and four launchpads on the International Border (IB) are being reactivated.
Pakistan is actively working to re-establish terrorist launchpads and training camps that India destroyed after the Pahalgam massacre of April 22, intelligence sources were quoted as saying.
On May 7, Indian forces carried out precision strikes on nine terror camps across Pakistan and PoK, targeting infrastructure linked to three major terror outfits: Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Hizbul Mujahideen. One of the most significant targets was the JeM headquarters in Bahawalpur, considered the nerve centre of JeM operations.
The terror camps currently being rebuilt are located in Luni, Putwal, Taipu Post, Jamila Post, Umranwali, Chaprar, Forward Kahuta, Chota Chak, and Janglora. These are being equipped with advanced technologies designed to counter thermal imagers, foliage-penetrating radar, and satellite surveillance.
Pakistan is also redeveloping 13 launching pads in PoK, including those at Kel, Shardi, Dudhniyal, Athmuqam, Jura, Leepa Valley, Pachiban Chaman, Tandpani, Naiyali, Jankot, Chakoti, Nikail, and Forward Kahuta.
Besides, four terror launchpads on the IB, dismantled during Operation Sindoor, are also being reactivated. These include regular Pakistan Rangers posts.
The ISI is redeveloping four launchpads along the IB in the Jammu sector: Masrur Bada Bhai, Chaprar, Luni, and a drone centre in Shakargarh.
The Pakistani spy agency is adopting a new strategy of splitting larger camps into smaller ones to reduce the concentration of terrorists in a single location, thereby minimizing potential damage in case of a strike.
Each mini-camp will have its own perimeter security, monitored by specially- trained Pakistani Army personnel, who will be equipped with thermal sensors, low-frequency radar systems, and anti-drone technologies.
Indian intelligence agencies have also intercepted communications indicating a recent high-level meeting in Bahawalpur. It was reportedly attended by senior commanders of Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, and The Resistance Front (TRF), along with ISI officials. Soon after the Operation Sindoor, these terror heads had met in Karachi as well.
The TRF was behind the April 22 attack on Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir where four Islamist terrorists killed 26 Hindu-only tourists.
During the meeting, the ISI pledged significant funding and manpower to redevelop the destroyed terror infrastructure. As a result, repairs are underway at several locations, and efforts are being made to establish new, more secure facilities, the sources said.
