Operation Sindoor fallout: Pakistan's terror twins are regrouping under ISI protection. Why India need to watch closely

A general view of a damaged structure of an Islamic seminary after Indian strikes in Ahmedpur Sharqia, about 7 kilometers from Bahawalpur in Pakistan's Punjab province, on May 7, 2025. (Photo by Shahid Saeed MIRZA / AFP)

India’s Operation Sindoor crippled key Pakistan-backed terror groups, but intelligence warns Lashkar and Jaish are now uniting, aided by ISI, to revive jihad. Infiltration attempts have surged, and new tactics, including women’s recruitment, signal rising threats.

Did our AI summary help?

When India launched Operation Sindoor in May 2025, it delivered one of the most punishing blows ever inflicted on Pakistan-backed terror groups. Lashkar-e-Taiba’s sprawling headquarters in Muridke and Jaish-e-Mohammed’s nerve centre in Bahawalpur were reduced to rubble. Trainers, bomb makers and senior operatives were killed. For weeks, the terror ecosystem in Pakistan appeared paralysed. Commanders went underground, cadres scattered into madrasas and safe houses, and morale collapsed. The strikes shattered the long-held belief that Pakistan’s terror factories were immune from retaliation.

Months later, Indian intelligence agencies say the shock has given way to regrouping. What is emerging now is not rivalry but consolidation. Lashkar and Jaish, once competing outfits, are closing ranks in what officials describe as a dangerous and ISI-driven fusion aimed at reviving jihad against India.

According to intelligence inputs accessed by India Today, senior Lashkar leaders recently held meetings near Jaish’s destroyed Markaz Subhanallah complex in Bahawalpur. Talha Saeed, son of Hafiz Saeed, appeared alongside Lashkar deputy chief Saifullah Kasuri and senior commander Hafiz Abdul Rauf. The message was clear. Turf wars are over. Survival now demands unity.

Rauf himself has publicly admitted the scale of India’s strike, saying Operation Sindoor completely flattened Lashkar’s Muridke base and that the complex is “no longer even a place where we can sit.” He also made a rare and damning confession that Pakistan’s state enables jihad, saying recruitment and training are easiest because “the state has decided this is how it will be.”

Despite the destruction, Lashkar recently held a militants’ passing out ceremony at Markaz-e-Taiba, attended by top commanders. Indian agencies say this proves Pakistan’s terror pipeline remains intact and politically protected.

Behind the regrouping is the Inter-Services Intelligence. Army officers attended terror funerals, politicians shared platforms with commanders, and new camps resurfaced even as debris lay uncleared. Intelligence reports warn of a unified Lashkar-Jaish command and a 300 per cent spike in infiltration attempts across the Line of Control.

The threat is widening further. Hamas-linked trainers have reportedly surfaced in Pakistan-occupied regions, and Indian agencies believe tactics from the October 7 attacks are being studied and adapted. Jaish has even launched a women’s wing to recruit widows for propaganda and suicide missions, signalling desperation turned lethal.

RAW and the Intelligence Bureau have issued nationwide alerts. Dozens of handlers are under surveillance, infiltrators are being neutralised, and warnings point to possible coordinated strikes from Kashmir to Indian cities.

Operation Sindoor crippled Pakistan’s terror infrastructure, but intelligence officials warn that the rubble of Muridke and Bahawalpur may now be fuelling a more reckless and violent phase driven by wounded groups, unified hatred and state backing.