JeM and Hizbul Mujahideen relocate bases to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan
Our Correspondent
New Delhi: Following India’s precision strikes under Operation Sindoor that destroyed at least nine key terror bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), intelligence reports indicate a significant strategic realignment by terror groups sponsored by Pakistan. Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), two of the most active terror groups working against India, have set the process in motion to shift their infrastructure into Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province.
The migration is being seen as a strategic realignment. With PoK becoming ever more susceptible to Indian military action, KPK provides depth, proximity to Afghanistan’s permeable border, and historic jihadi safe zones from the Afghan war. Those who are familiar assert that this migration is not only intentional but also enabled by Pakistan’s machinery of state, with local police and political-religious fronts providing cover.
One of the most dramatic recent incidents took place in the town of Garhi Habibullah, Mansehra district, on September 14, 2025. On the eve of the India–Pakistan cricket match, JeM organised a public rally in the name of a religious gathering.
The rally was addressed by Maulana Mufti Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, alias Abu Mohammad, JeM’s Amir for KPK and Kashmir, who is a high-value target wanted in India. Directly associated with JeM founder Maulana Masood Azhar, Kashmiri is said to have reorganised the outfit following its defeats in Operation Sindoor. His participation in the meeting, escorted by armed JeM cadres and local police officials such as Inspector Liaqat Shah, highlighted both the audacity of the group and the involvement of state authorities. Kashmiri eulogised Osama bin Laden for more than half an hour, calling him the “Prince of Arabs” and “martyr of Islam”. He mentioned Balakot in KPK as a forever haven for mujahideen, connecting JeM’s heritage with Al-Qaeda’s ideological stream directly. In a vitriolic report, he explained how Indian attacks on JeM’s Marakaz Subhanallah in May had killed relatives of Masood Azhar, stating that the Pakistan Army Chief himself had directed generals to go to the funerals of JeM militants, and the Air Force had given aerial security cover for their rites. His words attempted to present the Pakistan Army and government not only as defenders but also as willing participants in jihad—an inflammatory script meant to radicalise the young generation.
There was a definite objective behind the rhetoric: recruitment. The rally was meant to channel recruits into JeM’s training camp at Mansehra, Marakaz Shohada-e-Islam, which has been increasing in size ever since the PoK strikes. Eyewitnesses attested to new construction activity and large-scale logistical streams into the camp. JeM has also planned another high-profile event on September 25 at Peshawar’s Marakaz Shaheed Maksudabad, under its new pseudonym Al-Murabitun. The title, remarkably close to that of an Al-Qaeda cell in West Africa, implies rebranding efforts and evasion of international attention while ensuring operational continuity.
Parallel developments underscore Hizbul Mujahideen’s migration to KPK. Directed by ex-Pakistani commando Khalid Khan, HM has started developing a new training camp called “HM 313” in Lower Dir’s Bandaai area. The land for the camp was acquired surreptitiously in August 2024, and work resumed after Operation Sindoor. The “313” designation makes symbolic reference to the historical Battle of Badr as well as to Al-Qaeda’s Brigade 313, heralding Hizbul’s desire to place itself within the international jihadi environment. Early boundary walls and training facilities have already been seen on the ground, with the camp set to replace PoK facilities that were blown up and act as a base for indoctrination and cross-border raids.
The central figure of this reorganisation is Masood Ilyas Kashmiri. He was born in Rawalkot, PoK, and joined JeM in 2001, subsequently fighting against NATO troops in Afghanistan. By 2007, he had risen to district commander in Rawalkot and opened up training centres. Following the death of Al-Qaeda’s Brigade 313 commander Ilyas Kashmiri in a US drone attack, Abu Mohammad took his name to gain symbolic legitimacy. He rose to JeM’s Amir for KPK and Kashmir over the years and took a central role in planning the Sunjuwan Army Camp attack in Jammu in 2018. Indian probes have named him alongside Masood Azhar and Abdul Rauf Asghar as masterminds who provided guns and logistics for the attack. He also took command of the joint Lashkar–Jaish Hilal-ul-Haq Brigade, subsequently renamed as the People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), in 2019 to provide Pakistan’s proxy war with a cover of “indigenous” resistance.
JeM and HM’s strategic shift suggests an attempt to protect themselves from Indian attacks while moving their bases near Afghan networks for logistics. Experts caution that while PoK is still a launchpad for infiltration, KPK is in the process of being built as a rear command centre. The open police presence at terror rallies and mention of GHQ orders indicate an institutionalised cooperation between Pakistan’s military, political-religious fronts, and banned terror groups.
These bombshells come at a time when Pakistan is serving leadership positions at the United Nations Security Council and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, eliciting a jarring contrast between its global posture and indigenous reality. The public vitriol unleashed by Kashmiris not just against India but also against the United States and Israel highlights Pakistan’s double game. Even as it diplomatically courts Washington, its institution continues to shelter and abet units that have systematically attacked global interests.
The migration of terror camps from PoK into the heartland of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a dangerous new trend in the proxy war environment, one that India and the international community will be forced to reckon with.
