Pahalgam: Pak terror machine along LoC still fully intact and functional, reveal army officers

Kashmir terror attack: As India slowly comes to terms with the enormity of the terrorist attack that left many dead at a Pahalgam tourist spot, senior army officers have said that the terror infrastructure within Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir has remained "fully intact," the Times of India reported on April 23.

The main training camps located in the interior regions and the "launch pads" positioned along the Line of Control (LoC) continue to operate without interruption, the officers noted.

It may be noted here that this incident occurred shortly after the Pakistani Army chief, General Asim Munir, asserted that Kashmir is “Islamabad’s jugular vein” while referencing the two-nation theory.


General Munir said, “Our stance is absolutely clear — it (Kashmir) was our jugular vein, it will be our jugular vein, we will not forget it. We will not abandon our Kashmiri brothers in their struggle.” The Pakistani General's comment, initially dismissed by Indian authorities, is now being seen as the trigger that culminated in the murderous attack.

Meanwhile, the Army Headquarters in Delhi, particularly the military operations directorate, is actively evaluating the current situation, ToI's report said.

A senior officer informed TOI that Pak-trained terrorists were now utilising alternative routes to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir, as the robust counter-infiltration mechanisms along the 778-km LoC have complicated access for them.

The officer highlighted that last year, ten infiltration attempts were thwarted along the LoC, resulting in the deaths of 25 terrorists.

Although there is no significant military presence in the Pahalgam region, a unit from the specialised counter-insurgency force, Rashtriya Rifles, was promptly dispatched to the area after the news of the attack emerged in the afternoon.

Officials speculated that the "low-cost, high-impact" operation was likely timed to coincide with US Vice President JD Vance’s visit to India and Prime Minister Modi’s trip to Saudi Arabia, aiming to attract global attention.

With 144 terrorists eliminated in Jammu and Kashmir over the past two years, terror outfits are reportedly seeking a significant operation to reassert their presence. “The terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK, which includes so-called strategic assets like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, United Jihad Council, and Al Badr, along with jihadi seminaries and madrassa networks, remains completely operational,” the officer told the newspaper.

He also noted that “as evidenced by Gen Munir’s recent tirade against India, Pakistan is dissatisfied with the improving conditions in Jammu and Kashmir, where 2.9 million tourists visited last year, breaking previous records.”