Following crackdowns against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), the banned terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is relocating its operations from PoK and Punjab to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). Recent intelligence and video evidence from September 22 reveal LeT’s construction of a new training and staging camp, Markaz Jihad-e-Aqsa, in the Koomban Maidan area of Lower Dir. This location is strategically close to the Afghan border, just 47 kilometers away.
Construction of this new base started in July 2025, two months after Operation Sindoor. The first floor is complete, and the roof is being constructed. The center will cover around 4,600 square feet, adjacent to a newly-built Jamia Ahle Sunnat mosque. This aligns with LeT’s pattern of using religious institutions as a cover for their activities.
Nasir Javed, implicated in the 2006 Hyderabad blasts and an experienced LeT operative, is overseeing the new center. Muhammad Yasin (Bilal Bhai) will handle jihadi ideology training, and Ansuallah Khan will manage weapons training. The camp plans to host Daur-e-Khas and Daur-e-Lashkar courses. This facility will serve as the new base for LeT’s Jan-e-Fida’i (suicide) unit, given the Indian Army’s destruction of their previous base in Bhimber-Barnala in May 2025.
Reports indicate that Hizbul Mujahideen has also established a new camp, HM-313, in Lower Dir, with Jaish-e-Mohammed expanding its presence in Mansehra. These activities are allegedly supported by Pakistan’s ISI to shield the terrorist infrastructure. The Pakistani military’s June 2025 operation against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Lower Dir, which led to the deaths of over 24 TTP terrorists, cleared the area for LeT and HM, just before the new center’s construction.
While Pakistani authorities have labeled this a counter-terrorism operation, local sources suggest it facilitated the establishment of anti-India groups. In August 2025, Pakistan’s Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur admitted to the country’s ‘good and bad terrorism’ policy. Indian security officials have stated that the Indian Army has the capability to strike the new LeT camp, even if it’s located away from the border, should India’s security be threatened.
The Markaz Jihad-e-Aqsa in Lower Dir is slated for completion by December 2025. It will serve as a hub for LeT’s recruitment and training activities, while also demonstrating Pakistan’s strategy of eliminating domestic terrorists while supporting anti-India organizations.
