The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the Pakistan-based terrorist outfit involved in the December 2001 Indian Parliament attack and the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, has walled off a 4.5-acre compound on the outskirts of Bahawalpur in the province of Punjab.
While it is unclear whether the facility — coming up unimpeded by Pakistan’s military or intelligence services — will be a radical madrassa or a terrorist training camp, it raises questions on Pakistan’s commitment to the war on terror.
While the country, under US pressure, is fighting the Taliban in the west, on the east it is letting fiercely anti-India groups like the JeM flourish. Indian and western intelligence agencies believe JeM chief Masood Azhar is holed up in a safe house in Bahawalpur, a magnet for jihadists.
The McClatchy Newspapers, which reported the matter on Sunday, said the compound has come up without a hitch though there is a major Pakistani army base in Bahawalpur.
The facility, surrounded by a high brick and mud wall, has a tiled swimming pool, stables for more than a dozen horses, and fierce security.
When the McClatchy reporter approached it, a man, who identified himself as Abdul Jabbar, confronted him and asked him to leave. Jabbar was wearing an ammunition vest under his shirt.
The report detailed that “there are jihadist inscriptions painted on the inside walls, including a proclamation that ‘Jaish-e-Mohammad will return’ alongside a picture of Delhi’s Red Fort”. The regional administration is aware of the new compound but is not troubled.
According to the senior police official for the area, Mushtaq Sukhera, the compound has been “thoroughly searched” and nothing suspicious has been found. Pakistani officials have told the US media that the under-construction facility is simply a small farm to keep cattle.
An official told McClatchy that Jaish initially acquired 4.5 acres, and then forced an adjacent landowner to sell it another two acres. “It’s big enough for training purposes,” he said.
