Notorious nine: Why India hit them

Time of India

07-05-2025

NEW DELHI: Of the nine targets struck by India early Wednesday,
's base in Muridke and Jaish-e-Muhammed's Markaz Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur were the most important. Unabashed protection of Pakistan's army and ISI was the reason Muridke and Bahawalpur thrived as terror sanctuaries with seeming impunity for decades.
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Located in Pakistan's Punjab province, the very base of the country's military-intelligence complex, the two seminaries, inspired by hardline versions of Ahl-e-Hadith and Deoband schools of thought, seemed impregnable. Until Tuesday when the Indian Army and IAF hit them with precision strikes.
The Markaz, sprawling over 15 acres, has been JeM's primary hub for training and indoctrination of jihadis. It was where Maulana Masood Azhar, after sliding under the radar for nearly two years following international pressure on ISI, resurfaced on Nov 30, 2024.
In his speech to JeM members, he reiterated his unrelenting hostility towards India, vowing revenge for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya at the site of Babri Masjid.
A dozen terror strikes, including Pulwama, plotted at Bahawalpur
His comeback event was attended by key figures, including younger brother Maulana Talha Saif and son Mohammad Abdullah Bin Masood.
India had dealt the first major blow to a terror seminary in 2019, when it attacked Jaish camps in Balakot - regarded as the "first launchpad for jihad" by Syed Ahmed Barelvi - to avenge the killing of 40 CRPF troopers in Pulwama.
The fear generated by India's air strikes then appeared to have worn thin, encouraging Jaish to resume its terror campaign. LeT, though chastened for a while after a mysterious terror attack near the residence of its founder
, had also stepped up its attacks.
Located on NH-5 (Karachi-Torkham Highway) in Bahawalpur (Punjab province), the Markaz served as the operational headquarters of JeM. Over a dozen significant terror strikes, including the 2019 Pulwama attack, were planned here.
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The perpetrators of the
had even trained at this facility which has been home to over 600 cadres and hosted regular training sessions for JeM members. The intelligence dossier shared with various foreign govts said the Markaz was constructed with the support of Pakistan's provincial and federal govts, supplemented by funds raised by JeM. The complex boasts modern facilities, including a gymnasium and swimming pool for underwater training to terrorists besides a stable.
Muridke's Markaz Taiba, LeT's main training hub, was no less important as a strategic objective. Located in Nangal Sahdan, the 82-acre complex houses a madrassa, a market, residential quarters for operatives, sports facilities, a fish farm and fields, making it a self-sustaining terror training facility. Al Qaida chief Osama bin Laden had contributed Pakistani Rs 10 million for construction of a mosque and a guest house within the Markaz Taiba complex.
The complex served as a multipurpose facility for LeT, offering training in arms and physical combat, as well as 'dawah' and indoctrination programmes for terrorists from Pakistan and abroad. The perpetrators of the 26/11 attack, including Ajmal Kasab, were imparted 'Daura-e-Ribat' (training in collecting intelligence) at this facility which was even visited by David Coleman Headley. Annually, around 1,000 students enrol in various courses.
The facility also hosted periodic training sessions for LeT's top leadership.
Another big name on India's target list was JeM's Syedna Bilal Markaz in Muzaffarabad in POK. This facility was used as a transit camp for JeM terrorists before they were launched into J&K. At any point of time, 50-100 cadres resided in this facility. Specialised training was provided by Pakistan's Special Service Group, an elite wing to which former dictator Pervez Musharraf belonged.
JeM's operational commander and head of PKK Mufti Asghar Khan Kashmiri is in-charge of the facility that also operates as the base for digging of cross-border tunnels for infiltration of terrorists.
Among other targets hit by India, Sarjal and Tehra Kalan served as JeM's primary launchpad in Pakistan's Punjab, operating from inside a primary health centre and facilitating cross-border tunnel digging and drone operations for arms and narcotics smuggling.
Mehmoona Joya, a Hizbul Mujahideen facility in Sialkot, was also concealed inside a health unit. It provided weapons training, besides coordinating terrorist infiltration into Jammu under Irfan Tanda.
Additionally, an LeT camp in Barnala (PoK), Markaz Ahle Hadith, with a capacity for 100-150 cadres, was reduced to ashes. JeM's Markaz Abbas in Kotli, headed by NIA-wanted Qari Zarar, planned terror strikes and coordinated infiltration into Poonch and Rajouri sectors.
Hizbul Mujahideen's Markaz Raheel Shahid in Kotli trained terrorists in Border Action Team operations and sniping attacks.