Overview

• Satellite images and videos dated September 22 show Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Markaz Jihad-e-Aqsa under construction in Kumban Maidan, Lower Dir, with the first floor up and roofing in progress after work began in July.
• Reports place the site about 47 km from the Afghan border and adjacent to LeT’s Jamia Ahle Sunnah mosque on roughly 4,643 square feet, consistent with the group’s practice of co-locating training near religious institutions.
• Intelligence dossiers name Nasr Javed as commander of the new centre, with Muhammad Yasin (Bilal Bhai) handling doctrinal instruction and Anas Ullah Khan overseeing weapons training.
• Once operational—expected by December 2025—the facility is reported to host Daura-e-Khas and Daura-e-Lashkar courses and to replace the Bhimber-Barnala fidayeen hub destroyed in May under Operation Sindoor.
• Sources say JeM and Hizbul Mujahideen are making parallel moves into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with an HM camp about 4 km away, as analysts point to ISI guidance and note Indian Army statements that such distant sites can be struck if required.