Balakot Effect: Pakistani Terror Training Camps Shifted To Afghanistan After IAF Strikes, Says Report

Air strikes by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on 26 February against terrorist training camps in Balakot have led to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) shifting their cadre from Pakistan to the neighbouring Afghanistan, Hindustan Times has reported.

The two terror groups have reportedly joined Afghan terror groups like the Haqqani Network and Afghan Taliban for training their cadre with Pakistan no more a safe haven for the groups due Indian strikes.

The report comes in the wake of a Pakistani crackdown on Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed and other terrorists that the country harbours as it faces the threat of being black-listed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). India however, has played down the development stressing that it is important that the action by Pakistan is 'irreversible' and 'verifiable'.

Indian agencies continue to feel that shifting the training camps may be yet another cosmetic attempt by Pakistan just to avoid the black-list. Indian high commissions in Kabul and Kandahar have been put on high-alert in wake of the shift.

Deliberations on the Pakistan’s black-listing are set to take place later this year in the FATF’s Paris conference. Pakistan is currently in the intergovernmental agency’s grey-list and has faced criticism for insufficient action against terror groups.