Pak terror groups shift base

In the wake of Operation Sindoor, which wiped out at least nine major terrorist hubs in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Pakistan-sponsored terror outfits have shifted their bases deeper into Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). Groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) are now repositioning themselves in KPK, banking on its rugged terrain, proximity to Afghanistan and long-standing jihadi safe havens to escape Indian precision strikes.

Sources indicate that the movement is being conducted with the direct facilitation of Pakistan’s state structures, as evident from overt JeM gatherings held under police protection and the tacit involvement of political-religious outfits such as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI).

One of the most significant developments was observed on September 14, just hours before the India–Pakistan cricket match, when JeM staged a public recruitment drive in Garhi Habibullah town of Mansehra district, KPK. The event, ostensibly organised as a “Deobandi religious gathering,” was in fact a coordinated mobilisation led jointly by JeM and JUI.