A Calculated Strike That Changed the Narrative

When India carried out Operation Sindoor in May, it was not merely a cross-border response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people; it was a decisive statement. Nearly a dozen high-value terror hubs across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir were struck, targeting camps belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and Hizbul Mujahideen. What followed has been nothing short of extraordinary: instead of India proving Pakistan’s complicity, Pakistan’s own militant proxies have begun admitting it in public.

Lashkar Commander Lifts the Veil

A viral video featuring Qaasim, a Lashkar commander, has shredded Islamabad’s long-standing denials. Standing amid the rubble of the group’s Muridke headquarters, Qaasim admitted that the facility was destroyed by Indian strikes. Muridke, just outside Lahore, has long been identified as the cradle of LeT operations.

He went further, acknowledging that thousands of terrorists had trained there and that the camp is now being rebuilt “bigger than before.” His appeal for young Pakistanis to join a new training program, Daura-e-Suffa, exposes the ongoing cycle of radicalisation — directly contradicting Pakistan’s claim that the compound had been repurposed for civilian welfare.

Pakistan Footing the Bill for Terror

Adding to the embarrassment, LeT deputy chief Saifullah Kasuri appeared in another video conceding that the Pakistani government and army were funding the reconstruction of Muridke. For India, this is a gift-wrapped confirmation of what it has long argued before the Financial Action Task Force (FATF): that Pakistan enables terror financing.

Kasuri, accused of masterminding the Pahalgam killings, boasted that the new headquarters would be unveiled on February 5, 2026 — “Kashmir Solidarity Day” — timed with Lashkar’s annual convention. Intelligence assessments warn that the rebuilt campus will once again serve as a launchpad for strikes against India. Kasuri also vowed revenge, threatening to seize Kashmir’s dams and rivers — rhetoric that further highlights Pakistan’s complicity in extremist agendas.

Jaish Acknowledges Its Own Losses

If Lashkar’s confessions weren’t damning enough, Jaish-e-Mohammad leaders have gone a step further. Commander Masood Ilyas Kashmiri openly admitted that Indian strikes in Bahawalpur killed nearly a dozen members of Masood Azhar’s family, including his sister, in-laws, and children.

For decades, Pakistan denied that JeM operated freely from Bahawalpur, even as India and global intelligence flagged the city as a terror hub. The commander’s emotional admission not only confirmed JeM’s presence but also revealed the deep ties between the terror network and Pakistan’s establishment. Kashmiri claimed that army generals attended the funerals of slain terrorists, reinforcing India’s charge that the Pakistan Army acts as patron rather than adversary of jihadist groups.

The Bigger Picture: Pakistan’s Exposure

Taken together, these confessions dismantle Islamabad’s carefully curated narrative of plausible deniability. Pakistan’s repeated claims at international forums — that terror groups act independently or from outside its borders — now stand undermined by its own militant clients.

India’s decision to target Muridke and Bahawalpur — cities at the heart of Pakistan’s Punjab province — was as much about military precision as it was about political messaging. By striking symbolic strongholds, New Delhi has forced terrorist groups into a defensive posture, where they now inadvertently spill truths that Pakistan had long concealed.

Implications for Global Diplomacy

These revelations also sharpen the debate around Pakistan’s commitments under global counter-terrorism frameworks. With video evidence of terrorists admitting state support and reconstruction funding, New Delhi is expected to push harder for renewed scrutiny at FATF and the United Nations Security Council.

Furthermore, Pakistan’s position in Afghanistan — where it accuses the Taliban of harbouring anti-Pakistan militants — becomes increasingly untenable when it is simultaneously nurturing its own set of anti-India proxies.

Operation Sindoor’s Strategic Payoff

What began as a retaliatory strike has evolved into a geopolitical turning point. Operation Sindoor has not only inflicted operational damage on groups like LeT and JeM but also compelled them to inadvertently reveal Pakistan’s duplicity.

For India, the admissions by terror commanders serve as vindication of years of diplomacy, intelligence sharing, and military restraint. Pakistan’s credibility, already under strain, is further eroded as its denials collapse under the weight of its own proxies’ testimonies.

As reconstruction of terror camps continues, the challenge for India and the international community will be to ensure that Pakistan faces real consequences. Yet, in a broader sense, Operation Sindoor has achieved what few military campaigns manage: it has made the enemy expose itself.

(With agency inputs)