How Lashkar and Jaish are Reopening the Kashmir Jihad Factory

Poonam Sharma
In a chilling turn of events that recalls the blackest pages of cross-border terrorism, Pakistan-based terror groups Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) have been reported to have reopened their defunct terror training camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and opened new psychological warfare assets, including a propaganda television channel, exclusively to entice and radicalize Kashmiri youth.

While India has repeatedly pointed out Pakistan’s clandestine backing for terrorism, the alarming aspect this time around is also the potential misuse of foreign economic assistance—specifically the recently sanctioned tranche of money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF)—that could be inadvertently facilitating Islamabad to finance and support such anti-state activities.

Revival of the Jihad Infrastructure in PoK
Intelligence reports indicate that Lashkar and Jaish have resumed some training centers in Muzaffarabad, Kotli, and Bagh districts of PoK. Those centers had gone into hibernation because of global pressure and FATF threats in recent years are now said to be functional again.

Not only that—new camps have been established, with a particular emphasis on sophisticated guerrilla warfare, weapons training, and religious indoctrination. Sources say the average recruit is now much younger, with many of the new recruits only 15–18 years of age, drawn by ideology coupled with economic desperation.

This is a grim comeback to 1990s-model jihad factory model, only in the context of contemporary digital propaganda and hybrid warfare.

Pakistan’s New Psychological Warfare: TV for Terror
What makes the current wave of radicalisation particularly nasty is the introduction of a new TV channel from across the border transmitting incendiary anti-India programming into the Kashmir Valley.

Masked in the form of a local cultural and news outlet, the channel is a psychological warfare operation conducted by handlers connected to Pakistan’s ISI and terror organizations. It combines religious sermons, doctored news footage, and emotive calls to ‘struggle for Islam’ and ‘liberate Kashmir’, basing themselves heavily on past grievances and fabricated human rights abuse stories.

This is not merely a recruitment tool—it is a tool of incitement and indoctrination. And it’s available via satellite and internet streaming, hard to intercept and easy to amplify.

IMF Funds: A Backdoor for Terror Financing?
Earlier this year, Pakistan secured yet another $1.1 billion disbursement from the International Monetary Fund, intended to stabilize its collapsing economy, control inflation, and maintain essential public services.

But analysts now wonder if some of these resources—or at least the fiscal room they created—have been diverted, knowingly or unknowingly, to support anti-India terrorism.

Pakistan’s financial intelligence community mentions the repeat pattern: whenever Pakistan gets international financial assistance, terror infrastructure suddenly sees a comeback. In this instance, the sequence is stark:

April 2025: IMF tranche approved

May–June 2025: Camps in PoK are activated again

July 2025: Propaganda broadcasts start targeting Kashmir

Although it is impossible to demonstrate direct IMF-to-terror money transfers, the fact remains that foreign funding allows Pakistan to release domestic resources that can then be diverted into security and covert operations.

This has been a contentious issue for long, and Indian diplomatic routes are bound to bring this up forcibly with the IMF and its Western supporters, particularly the U.S., U.K., and France, who have demanded “monitoring mechanisms”—which till now are proving ineffective.

Young Kashmiris: The New Targets
Central to this approach is a concerted effort to take advantage of Kashmir’s youth. Most of them, having been brought up in the post-2019 abrogation period with growing access to the world outside, remain susceptible to digital propaganda, unemployment, and emotional enticements based on identity politics.

Terror outfits are not only providing “martyrdom” but also monthly salaries, training, and even cross-border migration for families as a promise in exchange for fidelity to the jihad movement. This lethal combination of ideology and economic enticement has sent the alarm bells ringing in India’s security establishment.

Authorities have already reported an upsurge in attempted infiltration cases over the past two months, most of which had first-time recruits and not experienced terrorists—a sign that there is a new cycle of radicalisation.

India’s Counter Strategy: Surveillance, Digital Firewall, and Deradicalisation
India has been countering with a multi-faceted strategy.

Heightened surveillance and drone surveillance across the LoC to pick up camps and intercept infiltrators.

Satellite blocking of the new propaganda TV channel, assisted by friendly world technology providers.

Deradicalisation and community outreach in the Valley, engaging local teachers, imams, and former militants to enlighten Valley youths about the real agendas of Pakistan-based terror groups.

Security analysts also suggest that international donor organizations must be held accountable for where their funds go. The IMF, World Bank, and similar institutions need to implement strict post-disbursement audits to make sure that development funds are not facilitating destruction.

Double Standards and Global Silence
India has long criticized Western countries for selective outrage—hasty to denounce internal crackdowns in Kashmir, yet silent when evidence surfaces of Pakistani support to terror.

With this new era of jihad terror infrastructure and propaganda being activated, the world must decide: Will they continue to blindly support Pakistan in the name of economic aid, or will they insist on accountability for every dollar that goes into Islamabad?

It is time for a reassessment of aid policies, and whether they are building up Pakistan’s civilian economy—or merely extending a deadly military-terrorist complex.

An Old Threat in a New Form
The revival of Lashkar and Jaish, aided by Pakistan’s spy world and possibly funded by abused IMF support, represents a clear and present threat to India’s home security and regional stability.

This is not just a terrorism issue—it is an organized geopolitical game, employing religion, media, and foreign financing to destabilize an independent democracy. India not only remained vigilant along its borders but must carry the battle to international forums, laying bare the poisonous intersection of development assistance and terror finance.

If the world does not comprehend this today, tomorrow’s threat will be considerably more intractable—and considerably more international.