Pakistani Terror Camps Still Operating

This is not good news. Although there is supposed to be a ban on military training camps, a media source reports that old-timers and new recruits of various "terror outfits" are flocking to previously-closed facilities.

From Hindustan Times:

Citing an example of the camps being reopened, Pakistan Herald magazine in its cover story, said one of the country's oldest militant training camps at Mansehra in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) is bustling with activity after a yearlong closure, as old and new militants converged on it to resume their training.

"Our transport fleet is back, electricity has been restored and communications systems are in place. Until 2001, thousands of fighters trained here for operations in Kashmir and Afghanistan," the magazine quoted a guide who conducted the correspondent around as saying.

Rejecting the magazine's charge as "baseless," Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said "there are no militant camps in Mansehra...I have no information on that. The claim is totally baseless. We have no such information stating that the training camps have been restarted."

Contrary to official denials, the magazine said despite the ban, militant outfits like Hizbul Mujahideen, Harkaul Mujahideen, al-Badr Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad managed to stay in touch with their cadre in 2003-4, which was considered as their worst year.

From another report, India informs Pakistan that it has the evidence.

India has said terrorist camps are still operating in Pakistan and New Delhi has photographic evidence.

"I have told the Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz that the terrorist camps have not been dismantled. We have the photographs and I have told him that we can provide photographic evidence," External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh told the BBC here last night.

Also, Singh said that India's neighbors shared its views regarding the terrorist camps. To me, it's not a toss-up and I lean toward believing India's assertions rather than Pakistan's denials.

I'm not familiar with the various groups using the camps, nor their intentions, nor do I really care at this juncture. First, the camps should be demolished and then a discussion concerning the groups may ensue. There should be zero tolerance for terrorist training camps anywhere, any time.