The Pakistani Army's Complicity With Jihadi Groups

Memri

03-06-2025

On the night of May 6-7, 2025, India launched missiles at nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). These sites were mosques and madrassas (Islamic religious seminaries) that double as training centers, residences, and hideouts used by Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), and other jihadi terror organizations.
All these sites have been in Pakistani territories for decades, indicating that Pakistan's use of non-state actors as instruments of state policy to foment terrorism with dangerous repercussions for the region. The Pakistani Army is actually complicit in encouraging, financing, training, and supporting these terror groups.
The Nine Sites Hit By India
The nine jihadi sites hit by India are:
1. Center Subhan Allah, JeM, Bahawalpur, Punjab Province
2. Center Taiba, LeT, Muridke, Lahore, Punjab Province
3. Sarjal/Tehra Kalan facility, JeM, Shakargarh, Narowal District, Punjab Province
4. Mehmoona Joya Facility, HuM, Head Marala, Sialkot, Punjab Province
5. Center Ahle Hadith Barnala, LeT, Bhimber District, Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK)
6. Center Abbas Mosque, JeM, Kotli, PoK
7. Maskar Raheel Shahid Training Center, Hizbul-Mujahideen, Kotli, PoK
8. Shawai Nallah Camp, LeT, Muzaffarabad, PoK
9. Syedna Bilal Center, JeM, Muzaffarabad, PoK
JeM is headed by Maulana Masood Azhar, who was among three terror commanders freed by India in 1999 in exchange for the Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijacked from Kathmandu to Kandahar. LeT is headed by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, who is supposed to be in prison but lives under house arrest, protected by Pakistani intelligence. HuM is headed by Syed Salahuddin aka Mohammad Yusuf Shah, who is also the leader of the United Jihad Council, a network of anti-India jihadi organizations in Pakistan.
It is worth noting that LeT uses Shawai Nallah Camp (Site Eight) also known as Bait-ul-Mujahideen "for recruitment, registration, and training. This camp has been functional since early 2000."
David Coleman Headley, the main accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, had undergone basic training in Shawai Nallah, in 2002. He also underwent training in Manshera, KPK, and Markaz Taiba, Muridke.
Inside the Shawai Nallah camp, there was the "Bilal Shawai Mosque," which was also hit during India's strike on the night of May 6-7. Some Indian observers believe that Pakistan dubbed its May 10[1] military operation against India "Operation Bunyan Al-Marsoos"[2] because this phrase from the Quran, which in Arabic means "a solid, compact structure" or "a structure made of lead" was written at the entrance of the "Bilal Shawai Mosque." This claim is difficult to verify as the phrase can be found in and on many mosques. In the Quran, the phrase describes those who fight in the way of God as being "like a [solid] structure." Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Asim Munir is a hafiz, or someone who has memorized the Quran.
The Quranic verse written at the entrance of the Syedna Bilal jihadi camp that was hosted in the "Bilal Shawai Mosque," in Muzaffarabad, in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Shawai Nallah is close to another jihadi camp: the Syedna Bilal Center/Markaz (Site Nine), used by JeM. It is situated opposite the Red Fort, in Muzaffarabad. The Syedna Bilal Center/Markaz is a mosque and training center. "The JeM's office and transit camp are located on a first floor adjacent to the building of Syedna Bilal Masjid. The mosque building consists of a three-story building; a Hijama [pressure cupping medical therapy] center is located on the ground floor. This facility is spread over 8-10 kanals and has family quarters, office building, and office of the Al-Rehmat Trust, the charity wing of JeM."[3]
According to reports, the camp was used for weapons training, bomb-making, and jungle survival exercises for JeM operatives. Its location near Muzaffarabad's Red Fort made it a high-security zone, allowing JeM to operate with relative impunity. Intelligence linked the camp to recent terror strikes, including the heinous Pahalgam terrorist attack on April 22, 2025, which targeted Hindu men. The Indian online news outlet The Probe[4] reported: "The camp was a transit point for 50-100 terrorists at any given time, preparing them for infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir to carry out attacks. The camp's strategic significance stemmed from its role in coordinating logistics and training, with credible reports indicating the involvement of Pakistan Army's Special Services Group (SSG) in providing specialized training to JeM operatives. The precision missile strike on the Syedna Bilal Camp aimed to dismantle this nexus between JeM and elements of the Pakistani military, significantly disrupting the group's ability to orchestrate cross-border terrorism."[5]
Complicity Of The Pakistani Army
Operation Sindoor, India's May 7 airstrikes against Pakistan, killed several terrorists linked to Pakistan-based groups. Photos appeared of top Pakistan military officers attending a funeral of these terrorists. "Photos of top Pakistan officers attending the funeral of these terrorists in military uniform had gone viral, exposing the decades-old nexus between Pakistan's army and terrorists. India has flagged an image – showing the coffin of a terrorist draped in Pakistan's flag – as the undeniable evidence of Pakistan's involvement in global terrorism," Indian media outlet Ndtv.com reported.
"The Pakistani armed forces have claimed that Hafiz Abdur Rauf, a US-designated global terrorist, who led the funeral of the terrorists killed in Indian airstrikes during Operation Sindoor is an ordinary citizen. Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Pakistan's Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR), categorically denied that the man seen in the image was a terrorist. Instead, he was described as a religious leader and 'a common family man'… The man identified by Pakistan as a cleric is Hafiz Abdur Rauf, a senior leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and head of the now-banned Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF), both of which are designated terrorist entities under US and United Nations sanctions." (Ndtv.com, May 12, 2025)
"The funeral prayer for several terrorists eliminated in India's Operation Sindoor was attended by the Pakistan Army personnel and members of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) of Hafiz Saeed … The funeral prayer for Qari Abdul Malik, Khalid and Mudassir was held in Muridke amid high security, said Tabish Qayyum, spokesperson of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, a political wing of JuD. Along with the Pakistani Army and JuD members, members of the civil bureaucracy were also present at the funeral, said Qayyum, who also attended the event. The funeral prayer was led by Hafiz Abdul Rauf, with prayers offered for the safety and security of the country. He claimed that Malik, Khalid, and Mudassir, believed to be members of the JuD, served as the mosque's prayer leaders and caretakers. The bodies were later sent to their native areas for burial." (Source: Indiatvnews.com, May 7, 2025)
It is worth noting that the airstrike on JeM headquarters, Subhan Allah Center/Mosque, Bahawalpur (Site One), conducted by Indian Armed Forces, killed at least 20 terrorists. The injured terrorists were taken to B. Victoria Hospital, in Bahawalpur, and were visited by several officers of the Pakistani establishment led by Lt. Gen. Muhammad Aqeel (XXXI Corps Commander). Yet, the Pakistani media claimed that Lt. Gen. Aqeel went to visit civilians who were hurt in the Indian missile attack. It is worth noting that, in a statement, JeM Chief, Maulana Masood Azhar, said that 10 members of his family and four close associates were also killed in the attack by India on the Subhan Allah Mosque in Bahawalpur.[6]
(Source: X)
(Source: Youtube.com/watch?v=ZgIqkQvWLro)