Despite Indian Strikes, JeM Resumes Recruitment, Pool Training at Hit Seminary
Just weeks after the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out Operation Sindoor, striking key terror infrastructures inside Pakistan, the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has reopened its infamous Bahawalpur terror base, including its swimming pool facility—long used for militant recruitment and training. The development has sparked fresh concerns in New Delhi about Pakistan’s unwillingness to dismantle terrorist outfits, despite international scrutiny and cross-border retaliation.
The Jama-e-Masjid Subhan Allah seminary, located in Bahawalpur, was one of the prime targets during the 7 May airstrikes under Operation Sindoor. The facility housed JeM’s leadership operations and served as a recruitment hub for poor local youth, who were drawn in with free lodging, food, and even recreational facilities like a swimming pool—now fully operational again. Indian intelligence sees the reopening as a clear signal of Pakistan’s ISI shielding terror groups, raising questions about the long-term impact of India’s precision strikes.
JeM’s Pool Is Open, Training Resumes, 600 Recruits Return to Bahawalpur Base
Indian intelligence sources confirm that around 600 students have resumed regular activities at the Bahawalpur seminary. The reopening of the swimming pool—used not just for leisure but also as a symbolic lure for impoverished youth—is being viewed as a calculated move to restore JeM’s public presence and recruitment pipeline. A senior Indian official noted, “The pool is a big draw for children in the area. This isn’t just about swimming—it’s about radicalisation.”
The facility has long served as a rest stop for militants awaiting orders before being dispatched to operational zones like Kashmir. Notably, four Pulwama attackers were seen using this pool in 2019, just before executing one of the deadliest terror attacks on Indian soil.
What’s more troubling is the renewed rhetoric from JeM leadership. Masood Azhar, the group’s elusive emir, has resurfaced with anti-India speeches, even threatening the Ayodhya Ram Mandir. Rallies and public gatherings have also resumed, as JeM attempts to signal defiance rather than defeat.
Simultaneously, JeM has instructed its cadres to stop recording videos of operations and training, allegedly to “comply with religious norms,” but in reality, aiming to suppress intelligence visibility on its activities. The move coincides with Pakistan quietly rebuilding smaller, tech-enabled terror camps, often in scattered clusters of 20–30 individuals, making them harder to detect and target.
