- Satellite imagery and videos show rapid progress on new Lashkar camp, 47 km from the border with Afghanistan
- New camp entrusted to terrorist Nasr Javed, who was among the masterminds of the 2006 Hyderabad blasts
- Lashkar's project coincides with Hizbul and Jaish establishing parallel bases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
There is fresh evidence of Pakistan's continued patronage of cross-border terrorism. The Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a UN-designated terrorist group responsible for the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, is building a sprawling terror training centre - Markaz Jihad-e-Aqsa in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Lower Dir region, sources said.
Satellite imagery and videos taken earlier this week show rapid progress on the LeT facility, located barely 47 km from the border with Afghanistan.
The camp has been entrusted to terrorist Nasr Javed, who was among the masterminds of the 2006 Hyderabad blasts, and will serve as a hub for advanced jihadist indoctrination and weapons training, sources said.
In line with the LeT's long-standing tactic of cloaking terror infrastructure under religious cover, the camp is being built adjacent to a mosque. Once operational, the terror launchpad is expected to house fidayeen (suicide) units and run specialised programmes, replacing facilities destroyed by Indian airstrikes during Operation Sindoor in May.
This construction also coincides with two other terror groups - Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) - establishing parallel bases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also known as KPK.
These developments strongly indicate the involvement of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in orchestrating a coordinated revival of anti-India terror operations.
Far from dismantling terror networks, Pakistan's military has cleared rival outfits like TTP from Lower Dir, paving the way for LeT's expansion. While Islamabad seeks global aid under the guise of counterterrorism, it continues to foster "good terrorists" for its proxy war against India, which is a grave threat to regional peace, sources said.
The LeT's Markaz Jihad-e-Aqsa terror launchpad will serve as the replacement hub for its Jaan-e-Fidai fidayeen unit following the destruction of the Markaz Ahle Hadith facility at Bhimber-Barnala by the Indian Army during Operation Sindoor on May 7, sources said.
The LeT shifted its camp to Lower Dir to avoid targeting by Indian forces in future. Even then it does not matter because the army has the capability to hit such distant locations, sources said.
Operationally, the LeT's new training centre is expected to be completed by December this year; it poses a medium to high, long-term threat. While still under construction, it is already emerging as a fresh hub for recruitment, radicalisation, and large-unit terrorist training.
The LeT has diverted all its energy, resources, and funds toward building the Jihad-e-Aqsa training centre, which shows urgency and priority the Pakistan-backed terror group places on getting the new facility up and running.
