Lashkar terrorists return to Muridke camp weeks after Operation Sindoor, pictures surface

Muridke Markaz was established in 1988 by Hafiz Saeed.

Fresh visuals have emerged showing terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) members resuming Friday prayers at its Muridke headquarters which was struck by India during Operation Sindoor.

According to a report by News18, a small group of cadres, believed to be local residents or administrative workers, were seen gathered in what remains of the prayer hall. Intelligence sources told News18 that it is the same hall where LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, his brother-in-law Abdul Rehman Makki, and more recently his son Talha Saeed, regularly led sermons.

In response to the killing of 26 tourists in Pahalgam, India launched Operation Sindoor, which included strikes on nine terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. One of the key targets was Muridke.

#BreakingNews | CNNNews18 accesses footage of destroyed prayer hall in Pakistan's Muridke, the LeT headquarters in Pakistan@siddhantvm shares more details @manojkumargupta | @JamwalNews18 | #IndiaPakistanWar#OperationSindoorpic.twitter.com/mykDymTxzu

News18 (@CNNnews18) June 2, 2025

Muridke Markaz was established in 1988 by Hafiz Saeed. The complex served as a training ground, indoctrination centre, and logistical base. It had links to Osama bin Laden and was implicated in major terror attacks, including the 26/11 Mumbai attack. The campus housed schools, mosques, medical facilities and residential quarters.

"Terrorist bases, like Bahawalpur and Muridke are universities of global terrorism. The big terrorist attacks of the world, be it 9/11, be it London Tube bombings, or the big terrorist attacks which have happened in India in the last many decades - their roots are somehow connected to these terrorist hideouts," Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in his address to the nation for the first time since Operation Sindoor.

After India struck,  Pakistan's federal minister Rana Tanveer Hussain is said to have visited Muridke. According to Pakistani media reports, the Pakistani government has pledged to rebuild the area at its own expense. He also mocked India’s technology, saying, “India's pride-filled technology would soon be seen being sold at Bilal Ganj in Lahore" as quoted by India Today.

"Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief General Asim Munir will personally finance the reconstruction of a mosque damaged in the operation," the federal minister said, as reported by Pakistani media.

Sources told News18 that the campaign against terror is far from over. “This is not the end of their operations," a senior official said. “They are now relocating their activities with the full logistical and material support of the Pakistan Army."

According to officials,  LeT and JeM are expected to exploit the destruction for financial gain. “They’ll tap into the sympathy network across Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, and other Muslim countries, collecting vast sums under the guise of Zakat and reconstruction aid," one source told News18.

A recent event in Kasur on May 28 reportedy  saw several known jihadist leaders sharing the stage. Saifullah Kasuri, alias Khalid, a top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander and one of those behind the Pahalgam terror attack, was also spotted at a public rally in Kasur.