New Delhi: India must brace for a chilling winter as Pakistan-backed terror networks regroup across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, and intelligence warns of renewed fidayeen strikes and narco-financed insurgency. 

Six months after Operation Sindoor scorched the terror grid in Jammu and Kashmir, fresh intelligence accessed by NDTV and corroborated by multiple agencies paints a grim portrait of Pakistan’s renewed proxy war.

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), long-time instruments of Islamabad’s covert aggression, are reportedly mobilising for a new wave of coordinated strikes, aided by Pakistan’s Special Services Group (SSG) and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). 

Since September, infiltration routes along the Line of Control (LoC) have witnessed a surge in activity. Drones buzzed over vulnerable ridges, operated by a LeT unit led by the notorious Shamsher, mapping gaps for potential fidayeen-style assaults or aerial weapon drops. 

Intelligence intercepts suggest Pakistan’s Border Action Teams (BATs) -- a lethal mix of ex-SSG commandos and trained terrorists -- have been redeployed across Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), signalling a possible escalation in cross-border raids. 

October’s clandestine conclaves in PoK, attended by Jamaat-e-Islami, Hizbul Mujahideen, and ISI brass, reportedly finalised plans to revive dormant terror cells. 

Monthly stipends for ex-commanders, reactivation orders for sleeper modules, and directives to avenge Operation Sindoor losses were issued. 

The ISI, facing diplomatic isolation and domestic unrest, appears to be doubling down on its old playbook: exporting instability to derail India’s peace. 

A dangerous new front is emerging. LeT operatives are rebuilding their human intelligence network across the Kashmir Valley, mapping local sympathisers and assets. Parallel narco-terror and arms smuggling routes -- eerily reminiscent of Punjab and Rajasthan’s recent patterns -- are being expanded to fund operations. 

The timing is ominous; India’s Trishul Tri-service exercise unfolds on western borders, while winter’s approach traditionally curtails infiltration. Yet, analysts warn, this year may defy that trend. 

New Delhi has sounded the alarm. Officials describe the intelligence as a “critical warning,” with the Northern Command on high alert. 

Operation Sindoor, which earlier dismantled LeT and TRF modules, may soon enter a renewed phase. 

The stakes are high -- not just for territorial integrity, but for the promise of normalcy that local elections and returning tourists have begun to restore. As the valley braces for what could be a long winter of terror, the question isn’t whether Pakistan will strike -- it's when, and how. 

The silence along the LoC may yet be broken by the echo of another fidayeen charge, another drone drop, another test of India’s firm resolve to maintain peace.

(IANS)