'Pakistan is spooked': Fearing 2019-like strike, Pak Army clearing terror launch pads in PoK

Pakistan is anticipating a military strike from India, much like the one carried out in 2019 in response to the Pulwama attack, and so a large number of terrorists taking cover in launchpads located in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) are being vacated and their inhabitants are being shifted deeper into Pakistan.

According to a report by the Times of India, intelligence sources say that as many as three major terror launchpads in PoK, where members of outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Muhammad were ready to infiltrate Jammu and Kashmir, have been empty after the April 22 attack in Pahalgam.

A senior intel officer told the news outlet, “Pakistan is spooked by memories of the 2019 surgical strikes by India on terror camps in Balakot, etc. It is clear that in the wake of the outrage over the Pahalgam carnage, shared by countries across the world, the terrorists have been directed to vacate the launchpads and return to bases deeper in Pakistan, lest their terror hideouts are once again hit in retaliatory strikes by the Indian forces.”

Even the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Rangers, who are usually stationed at terror launchpads to assist foreign terrorists in infiltrating across the LoC and IB, have now vacated their positions in PoK, sources told TOI.

How is Pak connected to Pahalgam?

A preliminary report on the Pahalgam terror attack by the National Investigation Agency has pointed toward an operational nexus between Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and LeT.

A report by NDTV says the NIA has found that the April 22 attack plan was formulated within LeT and was carried out on the directives of ISI.

The two key terrorists involved in the attack, identified as Hashmi Musa (alias Suleman) and Ali Bhai (alias Talha Bhai), have been confirmed as Pakistani nationals. Interrogations of detained operatives reveal that both attackers remained in regular contact with handlers based in Pakistan, receiving detailed instructions regarding timing, logistics, and execution.