Post Pahalgam attack, CRPF sets up 43 temporary operating bases in J&K

Data reveals that about two local terrorists and 100 foreign terrorists are active in the region at present

Post the Pahalgam terror attack last April, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has established 43 temporary operating bases in Jammu and Kashmir. Each of these bases house about 16-25 personnel to track as well as eliminate terrorists staying in the higher altitudes.

Of the 43 temporary operating bases set up across the region, 26 are in the Kashmir division and 17 in the Jammu division, all located at elevations of 6,000 feet and above. From these high-altitude camps, CRPF personnel, along with a small contingent of J&K Police, conduct short-term search-and-assault missions targeting terrorists who take shelter in ‘dhoks’ -- mud-and-stone huts -- while waiting for instructions from handlers based in Pakistan to carry out attacks.

The central paramilitary force has procured some special equipment for these temporary operating bases such as tactical boots, winter jackets, sleeping bags and satellite phones.

Data reveals that about two local terrorists and 100 foreign terrorists are active in the region at present.

According to officials cited by PTI, a significant number of temporary camps were established on the Pahalgam-Tral-Harwan stretch in the immediate aftermath of the April 2025 terrorist strike in Baisaran meadows, Jammu and Kashmir.

CRPF, along with other security agencies, used one such temporary operating base in July to neutralise the three terrorists behind the Pahalgam attack. The mission was codenamed ‘Operation Mahadev’.

Launched on May 22, the operation was part of a broader security strategy devised a day after the April 22 attack in the scenic Baisaran valley of Pahalgam, where 26 tourists were killed.

Before carrying out the Pahalgam terror attack, the Pakistani terrorists had hidden in a dhok near the Baisaran tourist spot, from where they later shot dead 25 tourists. They fled into the surrounding forests immediately after the assault, forcing security forces to comb the area for months before finally tracing them.