Ties between India and Pakistan remained strained this week amid continued efforts to ‘reduce alertness levels’ — with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh cautioning that Operation Sindoor was ‘just the trailer’. Both countries have also launched a diplomatic outreach and New Delhi remains on high alert. Against this backdrop, reports suggested on Saturday that the Pakistani Army and LeT terrorists had visited the Line of Control.
“Pakistani military and alleged Lashkar e Taiba commanders meet in Pakistan administered Kashmir and visit the LoC. Recent reports suggest an increase in tunnel activities below the LoC by Pakistan to send jihadi terrorists across border,” New York Times journalist Taha Siddiqui wrote on X while sharing a video.
The clip featured several purported members of the terrorist group including LeT co-founder Amir Hamza. Allegations about Pakistani tunneling are not new — with a recent report confirming that the BSF and Indian Army are currently investigating the possibility.
A Hindustan Times report from the end of April — just days before Operation Sindoor was launched — suggested that deep underground tunnels were being used for infiltration. An officer told the publication soon after the Pahalgam terror attack that they had been directed to find out whether Pakistan “has managed to dig very deep tunnels, under the trenches, to facilitate infiltration and even send soldiers in case of any armed conflict”.
The report cited officials to claim that Islamabad had also positioned ex-servicemen near the border to facilitate tunneling operations and act as first responders. Multiple news reports over the past few years also highlight the discovery of tunnels along the India-Pakistan border — at Samba, Kathua and other areas.
Operation Sindoor was India’s decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Launched on May 7, Operation Sindoor led to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. After the attack, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir as well as attempted drone attacks along the border regions, following which India launched a coordinated attack and damaged radar infrastructure, communication centres, and airfields across 11 airbases in Pakistan. After this, on May 10, an understanding of the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was announced.