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Srinagar: An arrested Hizbul Mujahideen militant on August 22 said all the training camps in Pakistan are "operational" at their original places after being temporarily shifted following "US pressure" last year.

"All the training camps in Pakistan are still operational. During the heightened tension between India and Pakistan, and under US pressure, most of the camps were shifted", the militant Shahbaz Ahmad Bhat, said when he was presented before the media after his arrest by Border Security Force (BSF) on August 21.

Three base camps namely Boi, Garhi Habibullah and Mansera jungles were shifted to Tarbela, Haripur and Taxila, which were running under the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) supervision. But these camps have been shifted back to their original locations, he said.

Bhat, a resident of Chukar village in Pattan Tehsil of Baramulla district, was arrested by the troops during a raid on a hideout at Harbachu village in Tral township of Pulwama, a BSF spokesman said.

The militant said all the forward launching detachments along the line of control (LoC) numbering approximately 17 have been fully activated and launching of militants to Indian side was going on unabated.

From the forward Kahuta detachment of ISI, at least two groups were launched prior to his infiltration into the valley and two more groups were waiting there to infiltrate during the first week of the August, he disclosed.

PTI