Pakistan shuts down terror camps in PoK, halts intrusion across LoC as blacklist fears loom

For first time in three decades, Pakistan has reportedly halted intrusion across the Line of Control and shut down as many as 20 terror camps operating in the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, a media report said on Saturday. Islamabad has taken the extreme step as the FATF’s October deadline nears. For the uninitiated, the Financial Action Task Force is set to hear the case in connection with blacklisting Pakistan over money laundering and terror funding activities. According to an Indian Express report, the intel sources say that the intrusion of terrorists from the LoC has nearly come to nil. While many feel that it may be an impact of the Balakot airstrikes in February earlier this year, however, the intel sources say that it has more to do with the FATF blacklisting fears.

According to its official website, the FATF requires each country to identify, assess and understand the terrorist financing risks it faces in order to mitigate them and effectively dismantle and disrupt terrorist networks. Countries often face particular challenges in assessing terrorist financing risks due to the low value of funds or other assets used in many instances, and the wide variety of sectors misused for the purpose of financing terrorism.

An earlier report by the Indian Express had said that   Pakistan has been forced to used low-calibre weapons during the cross-border firing. According to a report by the Indian Express, the Pakistan Army has been avoiding using big guns during the ceasefire violations. The report said that the use of artillery guns has seen a sharp decline. Not just the high-calibre weapons, the overall ceasefire violations have also seen a major drop.

On the intervening night of 25 and 26 February, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out air strikes across the LoC at around 3:30 am. According to reports, 12 Mirage 2000 Indian Fighter jets dropped 1,000 kg bombs, destroying several Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) training camps across the Line of Control (LoC). The strike came in response to the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, in which a suicide bomber of the Pakistan-based JeM rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a bus in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, killing 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel.

Rattled by the Balakot airstrikes, terror groups operating in Pakistan were shifted to neighbouring Afghanistan. Members of terror groups Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) have been shifted to Kunar, Nangarhar, Nuristan and Kandahar provinces of Afghanistan months after the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) aircraft their camps in Pakistan’s Balakot, according to a report.