LeT Reactivates 2 Major Terror Camps In PoK With ISI Support, Top Global Terrorists Visit Muzaffarabad

<p class=”p1″>After India decimated nine terror camps in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has now reactivated two of its oldest terrorist facilities, Abdullah Bin Masood Terror Camp and Chella Bandi Training Camp which had remained shut since the 2019 Balakot airstrike.</p>
<p class=”p1″>Located in Sirikot, Muzaffarabad, in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), the Abdullah Bin Masood Camp has seen significant terror activity since June 2025. Satellite imagery confirms the construction of four new tin-roofed temporary structures and a two-storey watchtower for housing and monitoring by terrorists.</p>
<p class=”p1″>As per sources, intelligence agencies began receiving inputs in June that LeT was reactivating the camp, which had long served as a forward launch pad for cross-border operations. By July, updated images confirmed new stay facilities alongside the original large hall used earlier for lodging militants and congregational prayers.</p>
<figure class=”image”><img src=”https://feeds.abplive.com/onecms/images/uploaded-images/2025/07/24/33517f60edacd40f2448fd5db4a104fa175338053252625_original.JPEG” alt=”Abdullah bin Masood in June 2025″ width=”720″ />
<figcaption>Abdullah bin Masood in June 2025</figcaption>
</figure>
<p class=”p1″>The operations at the camp were once overseen by Ghazi Abu Usman, a Karachi-based LeT operative, until its closure post-Balakot. However, recent images show Usman present at the camp again, accompanied by three LeT cadres. According to intelligence sources, after the closure of the Abdullah Bin Masood Terror Camp at Sirikot, Ghazi Abu Usman kept a low profile and returned to his hometown Karachi, where he opened a bird shop. But after its reactivation, Ghazi Abu Usman has again been seen at the Abdullah Bin Masood Terror Camp. Here at the Terror camp Ghazi Abu Usman will be responsible for movement schedules, and coordination with local PoK civilians and porters for infiltration and will operate on instructions from LeT Central Command and ISI handlers.</p>
<p class=”p1″>&nbsp;</p>
<figure class=”image”><img src=”https://feeds.abplive.com/onecms/images/uploaded-images/2025/07/24/622cd8aa8b1f42d6075b0bc06fa4d7a5175338060701025_original.JPEG” alt=”Ghazi Abu Usman inside Abdullah bin Masood.” width=”720″ />
<figcaption>Ghazi Abu Usman inside Abdullah bin Masood.</figcaption>
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<p class=”p1″>On 7 July 2025, senior LeT leaders including Saifullah Saif, head of LeT&rsquo;s Bahawalpur Markaz; Mujammil Hashmi, a U.S.-designated global terrorist and LeT&rsquo;s Karachi chief; Abu Suhaib Kashmiri, a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander; and Mohammad Maaz, personal secretary to Saifullah Saif along with five others from Bahawalpur and Lahore visited the Abdullah Bin Masood Camp. Before arriving, the group took photos at the Dulai Waterfall, which were later uploaded to social media.</p>
<p class=”p1″><br /><img style=”display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;” src=”https://feeds.abplive.com/onecms/images/uploaded-images/2025/07/24/7daf1608be8c0602a4ded0718e09d61c175338056820025_original.JPEG” width=”720″ /></p>
<p class=”p1″>From there, they proceeded to the Abdullah Bin Masood Camp of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT), where they stayed for five hours and held meetings with the trained LeT cadres stationed at the camp. According to sources, LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen have agreed to jointly operate the Abdullah Bin Masood Camp, now headed by Abu Suhaib Kashmiri. He coordinated Hizbul&rsquo;s movement from Muzaffarabad city to the camp. Abu Suhaib is a veteran Hizbul commander overseeing PoK operations and coordinating with ground units in India since 2002.</p>
<h3 class=”p1″><strong>Chella Bandi Training Camp Resumes Activities</strong></h3>
<p class=”p1″>Not just the Abdullah Bin Masood camp, LeT has also reactivated the Chella Bandi Training Camp, equipped with four firing ranges and two helipads. Previously abandoned post-Balakot, this facility was replaced by Shawai Nala Camp, located 3 km away near the Chella Bandi bridge. However, Shawai Nala was destroyed during India&rsquo;s May 7 airstrikes in Operation Sindoor.</p>
<p class=”p1″>Now, under ISI supervision, Chella Bandi has resumed its role as a full-fledged training and residential hub. Intelligence confirms that on 8 July 2025, Saifullah Saif and Mujammil Hashmi trekked through forested terrain to reach the Chella Bandi facility, accompanied by senior LeT commander Abu Muaz, a Kasur native active in PoK since 2003.</p>
<p class=”p1″>&nbsp;</p>
<figure class=”image”><img style=”display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;” src=”https://feeds.abplive.com/onecms/images/uploaded-images/2025/07/24/804ebf45ecac5c55d47cb44d4dd5c738175338046307225_original.JPEG” alt=”Chella Bandi Camp” width=”720″ />
<figcaption>Chella Bandi Camp</figcaption>
</figure>
<p class=”p1″>After visiting the camp, a group photo taken at the site shows six active militants alongside the visiting leadership. Intel Sources believe that LeT, under ISI&rsquo;s guidance, is attempting to revive its terror infrastructure post-Operation Sindoor, starting with the low-profile reactivation of camps using small structures falsely marked as hotels or picnic sites on maps, a tactic previously used when LeT disguised the now-destroyed Shawai Nala Camp as a &ldquo;milk dairy.&rdquo;</p>
<p class=”p1″>The Abdullah Bin Masood camp&rsquo;s location at a hill station with civilian tourist activity and Chella Bandi&rsquo;s proximity to a ISI base suggests a strategy to deter Indian strikes. During Operation Sindoor, India had avoided hitting areas close to civilian or military facilities, focusing only on isolated terror launchpads. LeT now seems to be exploiting this operational restraint.</p>
<p class=”p1″>Chella Bandi Camp in particular, has undergone upgrades by the Pakistani Army and ISI since 2021, with new infrastructure additions. Close to it, an active ISI command unit stationed nearby provides direct operational support. Both Abdullah Bin Masood and Chella Bandi camps have a history of involvement in major terror attacks in India, having served as training and launch pads.</p>
<p class=”p1″>India&rsquo;s 23 camp strike map, released during <a title=”Operation Sindoor” href=”https://news.abplive.com/topic/operation-sindoor” data-type=”interlinkingkeywords”>Operation Sindoor</a>, did include both Abdullah Bin Masood and Chella Bandi, but they were left untouched due to being inactive at the time. Their revival now makes them active targets once again. This isn&rsquo;t the first time LeT operatives from Pakistan have toured PoK camps. Such visits occur annually, with LeT delegations reviewing camps and strategizing with ISI on future operations.</p>
<h3 class=”p1″><strong> Top Terror Leadership Signals Escalation</strong></h3>
<p class=”p1″>However, the presence of top leadership like Saifullah Saif aka Rana Saifullah and Mujammil Hashmi on ground is seen as highly significant. Rana Saifullah, considered the right-hand man of LeT&rsquo;s deputy Amir Saifullah Kasuri, is currently the head of Markaz Al Aqsa in Bahawalpur and deputy caretaker of Jamia Muhammadiyah Islamiyah at Bahawalpur. Notably, on the day of the Pahalgam terror attack, he represented Kasuri at a LeT-Hamas gathering in Bahawalpur, attended by Hamas&rsquo; Iran envoy Khalid Qayoomi.</p>
<p class=”p1″>Mujammil Iqbal Hashmi, designated a global terrorist by the U.S. in 2018, has led LeT operations in Karachi since 2014. A close aide of Hafiz Saeed, he manages fundraising, weapons supply, and logistics for the group. The reactivation of these camps under the leadership of such high-ranking figures indicates that a coordinated ISI-backed resurgence of terror activity is underway in PoK. Abu Suhaib Kashmiri, a Hizbul veteran has been appointed commander of the Abdullah Bin Masood camp shows that LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen are now operating in tandem, signaling a dangerous escalation in cross-border terror operations against India.</p>