New Delhi: Four months after the Operation Sindoor which brought down Pakistan’s terror infrastructure to its knees, sources and visuals confirm that Pakistan-sponsored terrorist groups, particularly Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), have begun a deliberate strategic relocation into Pakistan’s restive region Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province.
The decision reflects a significant tactical adaptation by these groups, which now view Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as vulnerable to Indian precision strikes, while KPK offers greater depth due to its geography, proximity to the Afghan frontier, and existing terror safe havens dating back to the Afghan war.
Top sources told IANS that this movement is being conducted with full awareness and direct facilitation of Pakistan’s state structures, as evidenced by overt JeM gatherings held under police protection and the tacit involvement of political religious outfits like Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI).
The most significant development uncovered occurred in Garhi Habibullah town of Mansehra district, KPK, where JeM staged a public recruitment drive.
Visuals and graphics shared on social media and a few other footage accessed by IANS confirm that the event, ostensibly organised as part of a “Deobandi religious gathering,” was, in fact, a coordinated mobilisation effort led jointly by JeM and JUI in the presence of Mulana Mufti Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, alias Abu Mohammad, JeM’s Amir for KPK and Kashmir, who personally addressed the gathering.
Ilyas Kashmiri is a high-value target wanted in India, closely connected to JeM founder Maulana Masood Azhar, and one of the principal figures in JeM’s operational restructuring after Operation Sindoor.
“His presence at a public rally guarded by both JeM cadres armed with M4 rifles and local police officers, including Inspector Liaqat Shah of Garhi Habibullah Police Station, reflects both state complicity and the boldness of JeM’s revivalist strategy,” a source said.
In his speech, which lasted for over 30 minutes, he glorified Osama bin Laden, calling him the Shohada-e-Islam and “Prince of Arab”, directly linking JeM’s ideological line with Al-Qaeda’s legacy.
He reminded the audience that following the Kandahar hijack of IC-814 in 1999, when Masood Azhar was freed from India’s Tihar Jail and returned to Pakistan, it was Balakot in KPK that became his headquarters, portraying KPK as an eternal sanctuary for the mujahideen.
He then recounted in detail the events following the 7 May Indian strike on JeM’s Marakaz Subhanallah, which killed members of Masood Azhar’s family.
Ilyas Kashmiri claimed that the bodies were “turned to mince” by Indian bombs, and that this incident provoked the Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir to personally order GHQ to direct military commanders to attend the funerals of JeM terrorists, the Pakistan Air Force to provide overhead security, and soldiers to salute dead JeM operatives.
He narrated these details to frame the Pakistan Army and government as “not only protectors but also participants in jihad”, which accesses the dangerous narrative with strong resonance among Deobandi radical youth.
Assessment indicates that the rally’s true purpose was recruitment for JeM’s training facility at Mansehra, known as Marakaz Shohada-e-Islam, which has been undergoing expansion since Operation Sindoor, sources said.
Sources inside Mansehra confirm construction activity and an increase in logistical inflows at the site. They link this facility directly to Kashmiri’s speech and recruitment appeals, as attendees were urged to join JeM and physically enrol in jihad. The timing and location of the rally, coupled with JUI’s cover role, reveal a calculated attempt to normalise recruitment under the guise of religious-political gatherings.
Importantly, sources also confirm JeM’s plans to hold another major event on September 25 in Peshawar’s Marakaz Shaheed Maksudabad, to commemorate Yusuf Azhar (Masood Azhar’s brother, killed in Operation Sindoor).
Pamphlets distributed in KPK confirm that the event will be staged under JeM’s alias Al-Murabitun. Senior JeM leaders are expected to attend, and sources expect this gathering to double as both a memorial rally and a mass recruitment campaign.
Similarly, Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), under ex-Pakistani commando Khalid Khan, is constructing a new training facility named “HM 313” in the Bandaai area of Lower Dir, KPK. Notably, this land was discreetly purchased in August 2024, and construction resumed Post Operation Sindoor.
This facility is intended as a replacement for destroyed PoK camps and a platform for indoctrination and cross-border planning into Kashmir.
The strategic implication, as per analysis, is that JeM and HM are deliberately moving their infrastructure to KPK because the Indian military struck targets inside PoK and Punjab during Operation Sindoor, leaving JeM’s Mansehra and LeT’s Ghari Habibullah camp untouched.
Terror groups calculate that positioning themselves deeper inside KPK reduces their exposure to future Indian strikes, while simultaneously bringing them closer to Afghan networks.
Sources indicate that KPK is now being repositioned as a rear command zone for JeM, while PoK continues to serve as a forward operating platform for infiltration.
However, such a shifting might be to deceive intelligence agencies as well.
The fact that Pakistan currently chairs the UN Security Council as well as at SCO, while JeM rallies occur under official protection, exposes a glaring contradiction in its international posture.
(IANS)
