NEW DELHI: In response to the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has set up 43 temporary operating bases across the Union Territory to intensify counter-terror operations, security officials said on Wednesday.
Each of these bases houses between 16 and 25 personnel tasked with tracking and neutralising terrorists hiding in higher-altitude areas. Of the 43 bases, 26 are located in the Kashmir division and 17 in the Jammu division. Most are positioned at elevations of 6,000 feet and above.
CRPF teams, supported by Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel, operate from these makeshift camps for short durations, launching search-and-destroy missions against militants. Officials said terrorists often take shelter in ‘dhoks’ — traditional mud-and-stone huts — using them as temporary hideouts while awaiting instructions from Pakistan-based handlers to carry out attacks.
To support operations in challenging terrain and harsh weather, the CRPF has equipped these units with specialised gear, including tactical boots, winter jackets, sleeping bags and satellite phones.
Security data indicates that around two local terrorists and nearly 100 foreign terrorists are currently active in the region.
The first set of such temporary bases was established in April 2025 along the Pahalgam–Tral–Harwan axis, shortly after the April 2025 terror attack in Pahalgam. Security forces later used one of these bases to locate the hideout of the three Pakistani terrorists responsible for the attack near the Dachigam area in Srinagar. The trio was eliminated in Operation Mahadev in July 2025.
Investigations revealed that before targeting tourists at Baisaran near Pahalgam — where 25 people were killed — the attackers had taken refuge in a nearby dhok. Following the assault, they fled into dense forests, prompting a months-long search by security forces before their eventual elimination.
