After Operation Sindoor, JeM and Hizbul Mujahideen relocate bases to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, leveraging state support amid growing regional security concerns.
A JeM recruitment rally in Garhi Habibullah, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, signaling a shift of terrorist operations from PoK to KPK amid increased Indian military action (Photo: Pinterest)
New Delhi: Intelligence sources have revealed that Pakistan-sponsored terror groups Jaish-e Mohammed (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) have begun shifting their operational bases to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) after India destroyed at least nine major terrorist hubs in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) during Operation Sindoor following Pahalgam terror attack.
KPK in n contrast to PoK offers greater geographic depth, closer proximity to the Afghan border, and long-established jihadi strongholds dating back to the Afghan war.
A clear indication of JeM’s resurgence was seen on September 14, 2025, when the group held a public recruitment rally in Garhi Habibullah, Mansehra district. Presented as a Deobandi religious event, the rally was actually co-organized by JeM and the political-religious party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI). Presiding over the rally was Maulana Mufti Masood Ilyas Kashmiri alias Abu Mohammad, JeM’s Amir for KPK and Kashmir and a high-value target wanted in India. Closely linked to JeM founder Masood Azhar, Kashmiri addressed hundreds of attendees under the protection of armed JeM cadres and uniformed local police officers, including the inspector of Garhi Habibullah Police Station.
In his speech, Kashmiri glorified Osama bin Laden, invoked the Kandahar hijack episode, and hailed KPK as the “eternal sanctuary of mujahideen.” He also claimed the Pakistan Army had formally honoured JeM operatives killed in Indian airstrikes, portraying the military establishment as an active participant in jihad. The rally’s underlying aim, according to sources, was to recruit fresh cadres for JeM’s expanding training facility at Mansehra, Marakaz Shohada e-Islam.
JeM has also announced a major gathering in Peshawar on 25 September, to be held under its new alias Al-Murabitun. Pamphlets confirm the event will commemorate Yusuf Azhar, Masood Azhar’s brother killed in Operation Sindoor. Intelligence agencies assess that the memorial will serve as both a propaganda exercise and a recruitment campaign. The adoption of the name Al-Murabitun — also used by an Al-Qaeda faction in West Africa and meaning “defenders of the land of Islam” — is believed to be an attempt to obscure JeM’s identity as a proscribed terror organisation. Meanwhile, Hizbul Mujahideen has begun constructing a new camp in Lower Dir district of KPK. Intelligence inputs identify the site, codenamed HM 313, as the brainchild of Hizbul commander Khalid Khan, a former Pakistani Army commando.
Land for the facility was discreetly purchased in 2024, and construction resumed after Operation Sindoor. Sources report boundary walls and training infrastructure already in place. The name “313” symbolically refers both to the historic Battle of Badr and Al-Qaeda’s notorious Brigade 313, under scoring Hizbul’s intent to gain broader jihadi legitimacy.
The facility is expected to serve as a replacement for destroyed PoK camps and as a base for indoctrination and planning of cross-border operations.
At the centre of these developments is Masood Ilyas Kash miri, whose career illustrates the deep overlap between Pakistan’s state machinery and global terror networks. A veteran of the Afghan jihad, Kash miri masterminded the 2018 Sunjuwan Army Camp attack in Jammu. He currently heads the Hilal-ul-Haq Brigade, later rebranded as the People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF) — a cover outfit designed to project Pakistan-backed militancy in Kashmir as “indigenous resistance.”
His dual role as JeM’s KPK commander and PAFF leader underscores his significance in Pakistan’s proxy war apparatus.
Perhaps most disturbing are the open signs of Pakistani state involvement. JeM rallies have not only gone unchallenged but have been guarded by local police.
Kashmiri’s claims that the Pakistan Army itself honoured JeM terrorists killed in Indian strikes further reinforce the perception of deep collusion between Islamabad’s security establishment, political-religious outfits, and designated terrorist groups.
The timing is particularly striking. Pakistan currently chairs the UN Security Council and plays an active role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), even as its territory openly hosts rallies of groups responsible for cross-border terrorism.
Analysts believe JeM and HM’s move into KPK represents a deliberate attempt to shield their core infrastructure from future Indian strikes while leveraging Afghan networks for recruitment and logistics. KPK, they warn, is emerging as a rear command zone for jihadist organisations, with PoK continuing as the forward operating base for infiltration into India.
Equally concerning is the messaging from leaders like Kashmiri, who not only threaten India but also direct venom at the United States and Israel. Observers note a familiar pattern: Pakistan projecting counter-terror cooperation internationally while simultaneously nurturing groups that destabilise the region.
As one intelligence official put it, “Operation Sindoor may have destroyed camps in PoK, but the threat is regenerating deeper inside KPK — this time under state protection and with an eye on global jihadi networks.”
