Decimated in Op Sindoor strikes, how Jaish’s Bahawalpur terror camp is alive and recruiting again

A general view of a damaged structure of an Islamic seminary after Indian strikes in Ahmedpur Sharqia, about 7 kilometers from Bahawalpur

Two months after India’s precision strikes, under Operation Sindoor, decimated key terror camps inside Pakistan, including the notorious Jaish-e-Mohammed headquarters in Bahawalpur, the terror machinery is back in action, and seemingly with state support.

In a development that signals Pakistan’s unwillingness to dismantle jihadist infrastructure, the JeM-run madrassa in Bahawalpur has not only resumed operations with 600 students but has also reopened a swimming pool once used by the Pulwama attackers – a symbolic and strategic move that reeks of defiance.

Despite satellite imagery showing the scale of damage inflicted by Indian strikes on May 7, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) appears to be rebuilding what was destroyed, and resurrecting the very facilities that have long served as recruitment and training grounds for anti-India terrorism.

The Bahawalpur strike: What was hit

On May 7, under the cover of night, the Indian military launched a series of non-escalatory but lethal strikes aimed at dismantling terror camps operated by Pakistan-based groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). One of the most significant targets was the Markaz Subhan Allah madrassa in Bahawalpur – a known nerve centre for JeM’s recruitment, indoctrination, and attack planning.

Government sources told The Print that “the most potent weapons were used” on the facility, which doubles as JeM’s operational HQ and includes a mosque, swimming pool, gymnasium, and even stables – spread across 15 acres along Pakistan’s NH-5 (Karachi–Torkham Highway). Post-strike satellite imagery, released by Indian agencies as well as Maxar Technologies, showed collapsed buildings, gaping holes in domes, and widespread structural damage.

This is the same site where the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing – which killed 40 CRPF soldiers – was reportedly planned.

Swimming pool is open again

Despite the extensive damage caused during Operation Sindoor, Jaish-e-Mohammed has now resumed activities at the Bahawalpur madrassa, with a particularly revealing development: the reopening of the terrorist-run swimming pool.

According to a report by The Print, authorities at the Jama-e-Masjid Subhan Allah seminary have not only reopened the pool, but 600 students have resumed regular activities as well.

“Even though reopening a swimming pool might sound like a small thing, it is a big draw for poor children in the Bahawalpur area who form the base from which the Jaish recruits its cadre. It is also a signal that the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate has no intention of shutting down terror-linked groups, despite the war,” a senior government official was quoted by The Print as saying.

The significance of the pool cannot be overstated. This very pool, say Indian agencies, was used by Jaish recruits before they are inducted into terror missions. In fact, the Pulwama attackers — Mohammad Umar Farooq, Talha Rashid Alvi, Mohammad Ismail Alvi, and Rashid Billa — were photographed in this same swimming pool before heading to Kashmir in 2019.

JeM resurfaces and gets bolder

Following Operation Sindoor, rather than scaling down, the JeM leadership has gone on the offensive.

According to The Print, the group has relaunched social media campaigns, recruitment drives via Telegram and WhatsApp, and posted audio messages of its chief Masood Azhar calling for revenge. One speech, attributed to Azhar, vowed to destroy the Ayodhya Ram Mandir.

Azhar claimed India’s strike killed several members of his family, including his sister, her husband, a nephew, his wife, and five children. Rather than acknowledge a blow, Azhar turned it into a rallying cry, alleging the group paid for their funerals.

Beyond Bahawalpur: Rebuilding the Jihad machinery

The reopening of Bahawalpur’s terror hub isn’t an isolated incident. According to an NDTV investigation, Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies have begun rebuilding other terror facilities along the LoC. These include smaller, high-tech camps in forested areas, designed specifically to evade Indian surveillance, with masking against thermal, radar, and satellite detection.

These facilities are not just reconstructions; they are tactical upgrades, signalling that Pakistan is preparing for continued proxy war operations against India.

Pak govt’s double game

In public, Pakistan has long claimed that it has “taken over” terror-linked madrassas and facilities. After the Pulwama attack in 2019, Bahawalpur’s then-Deputy Commissioner Shozeb Saeed said, “Some 600 students are studying here, and none of them is associated with any banned organisation or involved in any terror activity.”

Yet, the facts paint a very different picture. The madrassa continues to serve as a command centre for JeM, with Masood Azhar, Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar, and Maulana Ammar believed to reside there.

This duplicity — denying links while allowing training camps to function openly — is precisely why India carried out the May 7 strikes.