By Nityanjali Bulsu
Nearly seven months after India’s Operation Sindoor dealt heavy damage to Pakistan’s border
defences and terror infrastructure, Pakistan has quietly rebuilt and reactivated 72 terror launch
pads along the Jammu frontier, the Border Security Force (BSF) has said in a press conference.
According to senior BSF officials, Pakistan had initially shifted these facilities deeper inside its
territory after the May operation, which targeted multiple terror-linked sites in Pakistan and
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). However, many launch pads have now resurfaced
dangerously close to the International Border (IB) and the Line of Control (LoC).
BSF Deputy Inspector General Vikram Kunwar said at the press briefing that Pakistan had
adopted a strategy to move terror launch pads away from the border. “But old habits die hard.”
he remarked. He confirmed that 12 launch pads are active again in the Sialkot and Zafarwal
sectors near the IB, while 60 more have been reactivated across the LoC near Jammu. Terrorist
groups are typically kept in clusters of two to three members, he added.
Kunwar also noted that while no training camps are currently seen near the IB, intelligence
reports indicate the presence of such camps in deeper areas across the LoC.
During Operation Sindoor, India destroyed 118 Pakistani posts that were used to target BSF
positions- 72 along the IB in Hiranagar, Samba, and Jammu, and 46 along the LoC in Rajouri
and Poonch. Pakistan’s surveillance systems were also significantly damaged.
The Pakistani Rangers, who were seen to have abandoned their posts during the strikes, have
slowly returned, BSF Inspector General Shashank Anand said. He also added that India is
continuing to monitor tunnel activity closely and relying on tools such as thermal cameras,
Ground surveillance radars, UAVs, and counter-drone systems.
Highlighting the growing aerial dimension of warfare, Anand said the BSF’s Drone Warfare
School in Gwalior is collaborating with IIT Delhi and IIT Chennai to strengthen India’s
preparedness.
Operation Sindoor, launched on May 6- 7, 2025, was carried out in response to the April 22
Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.