Pakistan shifted 72 terror launchpads from border areas; force ready for Operation Sindoor 2.0: BSF

Jammu: More than six dozen terror launchpads have been shifted to the "depth areas" in Pakistan after Operation Sindoor, and the force is ready to inflict heavy losses on the enemy if the government decides to resume the cross-border operation, senior BSF officers said on Saturday.

However, the BSF is honouring the halt in military action after four days of clashes from May 7-10, they said.

"After the BSF destroyed many terror launchpads along the border during Operation Sindoor, Pakistan government shifted all such facilities to the depth areas… About 12 launchpads are working from the depth areas of Sialkot and Zaffarwal, which are not exactly on the border.

"Similarly, 60 launchpads are working in the other depth areas away from the border,” BSF DIG Vikram Kunwar told reporters here.

Kunwar, along with BSF IG, Jammu Frontier, Shashank Anand, and DIG Kulwant Rai Sharma addressed a joint press conference to highlight the achievements of the force in 2025, including its role in Operation Sindoor, India's military response to the April 22 Pahalgam massacre with cross-border links that claimed 26 lives.

The officer said the figures of these launchpads, as well as the terrorists present in them, keep changing.

“They do not sit there permanently. These launchpads are generally active when terrorists have to be pushed (into India)... They are not kept in more than two or three groups," DIG Kunwar said while informing that there are no training camps in the areas close to the International Border presently.

The reports generally say that there is deployment in the launchpads, indicating training before terrorists are moved to other areas.

“Earlier, they used to have areas marked, where those belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad would be active on the down side, and those from Lashkar-e-Taiba will be active on the upper side. After Operation Sindoor, they have formed a mixed group. Those who want can get training in a mixed group,” DIG Kunwar said.

IG Anand said the BSF is ready to follow the orders of the government if it decides to resume Operation Sindoor.

“If we talk about 1965, 1971, the 1999 Kargil War, or Operation Sindoor, the BSF has a good experience of all kinds of wars, be it conventional or hybrid warfare. We are ready. If we get a chance, we are capable of causing more damage than what we did in May. Whatever policy the government decides, the BSF will play its role in it," he said.

Asked about Pakistani Rangers running away from their posts during Operation Sindoor, the IG said once the situation becomes normal, it is necessary that everyone returns to their respective positions.

“It took them a lot of time to recover from the damages inflicted by the BSF. In some locations, they have tried to strengthen their defence. But all of their activities are under our surveillance,” the IG said.

The BSF is making its plans according to the changing circumstances, he said, and “when we get a chance, we will take proper action".

“At the moment, there is no movement (of terrorists on the border) to raise an alarm," the officer said.