On behalf of Pakistan government, Federal Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain has begun taking steps to rebuild the terror camp at Muridke after it was struck by Indian forces in Operation Sindoor. Located north of Lahore, Muridke was one of nine sites hit in early May in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, which had killed 26 Hindu pilgrims. As part the steps, he has recently visited Hashimi Muzammil Iqbal, a SDNL listed terrorist by US government.
Notably, the reconstruction will be funded with new IMF disbursements: a US $1.4 billion loan under the Climate Resilience Fund, together with the first review tranche of Pakistan’s broader US $7 billion Extended Fund Facility. Pakistan received approval of US $1 billion in cash on May 9 following the IMF board’s approval of the program’s first review.
Muridke is home to the Markaz-e-Toiba complex, the 200-acre headquarters of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), operating under the cover of Jamaat-ud-Dawa. Established in the late 1980s by LeT founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence as part of Operation Tupac, the facility serves as LeT’s ideological, logistical and training centre, drawing volunteers from across Pakistan and Kashmir. The Pak government plans to allocate resources to repair roads, utilities and healthcare facilities, leading to the terror camp.
India had formally requested that the IMF review its financial support to Pakistan in light of ongoing cross-border terrorism concerns. New Delhi’s appeal follows the Pahalgam attack and subsequent strikes under Operation Sindoor, which marked the worst military engagement between the two neighbors. Now, India’s claims proved right with official declaration from the Pak Federal Minister.
Addressing the armed forces personnel at Bhuj Air Force Station on 16 May, India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh confirmed this, saying “The Pakistan government has announced financial assistance to rebuild the terror infrastructure of LeT and JeM located in Muridke and Bahawalpur. Certainly, a large part of the IMF’s one billion dollars assistance will be used to fund the terror infrastructure”.
“Will this not be considered indirect funding by the IMF, an international organisation? Any financial assistance to Pakistan is no less than terror funding. The funds India gives to the IMF should not be used, directly or indirectly, to create terror infrastructure in Pakistan or any other country,” he added.
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