Following actions against Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen, the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which is sanctioned by the United Nations, has begun moving its operations from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Punjab to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). Intelligence reports, along with images and video released on September 22nd, have confirmed that LeT is building a new terrorist training and staging center called Markaz Jihad-e-Aqsa in the Koomban Maidan area of Lower Dir district. This area is only 47 kilometers from the Afghan border.
According to sources, the construction of this new center began in July 2025, two months after Operation Sindoor. The first floor of the building is already complete, and the roofing is underway. The center will cover an area of approximately 4,600 square feet and is located next to LeT’s newly built Jamia Ahle Sunnat mosque, a common tactic used by LeT to conceal their operations within religious institutions.
Nasir Javed, a co-conspirator in the 2006 Hyderabad blasts and a long-time LeT operative, has been given the responsibility of leading this new center. Muhammad Yasin, also known as Bilal Bhai, will be in charge of teaching jihadi ideology, while Ansuallah Khan will be responsible for weapons training. The center plans to run two major courses: Daur-e-Khas and Daur-e-Lashkar. This will serve as the new base for LeT’s Jan-e-Fida’i (suicide) unit, after the Indian Army destroyed its previous base in Bhimber-Barnala in May 2025.
Reports indicate that Hizbul Mujahideen has also established a new camp, HM-313, in Lower Dir, and Jaish-e-Mohammed has expanded in Mansehra. These developments are allegedly occurring under the direction of Pakistan’s ISI, to protect the terrorist infrastructure from Indian scrutiny. The Pakistani military conducted an operation against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Lower Dir in June 2025, clearing the area for LeT and HM. Over 24 TTP terrorists were killed in the operation, which directly preceded LeT’s establishment of the new center.
While the Pakistani military and air force have called this a “counter-terrorism operation,” local sources claim it was actually aimed at preparing the ground for anti-India terrorist groups. In August 2025, Pakistan’s Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur admitted that Pakistan follows a policy of “good and bad terrorism.” Indian security sources maintain that even if the new LeT camp is far from the border, the Indian Army has the capability to target these locations if Indian security is threatened.
The Markaz Jihad-e-Aqsa in Lower Dir is expected to be ready by December 2025. It will not only be a new center for LeT recruitment and terrorist training but also highlights Pakistan’s strategy of eliminating its own anti-state terrorists while protecting anti-India organizations.