TRAC Report Lashkar‑e‑Taiba (LeT)’s Expanding Maritime Capabilities and Threat to India’s Maritime Domain

Source TRACWATCH

TRAC Watch reports that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is developing a specialised maritime wing known as a “Water Force,” integrating advanced sea-based skills into its militant training framework. Trainees aged 15 to 35 undergo 20–40 day courses covering advanced swimming, scuba diving, underwater manoeuvring, water rescue operations, and the operation of high-speed motorboats, with training structured around a Mumbai-style small-cell attack model designed to move operatives covertly from sea to land using small boats or divers and replicate the 26/11 pattern of simultaneous multi-target strikes. This initiative builds on LeT’s long-standing amphibious training programs, including combat diving at the Neelam River and facilities near Mangla and Tarbela Dams, historically conducted through the Al Dawa Water Training Unit under the Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (an LeT proxy) near Muzaffarabad, Kotli, and Mangla Dam to facilitate infiltration across the Kishanganga River from the Tangdhar sector.

Alongside technical instruction, the program incorporates ideological indoctrination and paramilitary discipline, with recruits first exposed to religious messaging before entering a selection pipeline where suitable candidates advance to weapons and guerrilla warfare training. The emphasis on agile, small-team operations suggests a shift away from mass mobilisation imagery toward precision-style attacks designed to maximise psychological and media impact with a smaller logistical footprint.

Recruitment and Front-Organisation Networks

The recruitment mechanism relies heavily on front organisations that present themselves as youth development or disaster response outfits. These fronts, most notably the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) and the Pakistan Muslim Youth League (MYL), are used to attract large numbers of young people under the cover of “rescue” or “preparation” training. Within this framework, swimming-focused courses drew in approximately 5,000 youths, with a smaller subset filtered into LeT and PMML’s cadres. Around 300 of these individuals are believed to have joined LeT’s militant ranks after further screening, ideological indoctrination, and weapons training. This two-tier system allows LeT to maintain a broad recruitment base while keeping its core militant component relatively small and disciplined.

Training Locations

Training is reported across multiple locations in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir [POK], suggesting a deliberately dispersed infrastructure. Sites include Islamabad, Muridke, Lahore, Bahawalpur, Karachi, Kasur, and Alipur on the Pakistani side, and the Suran River in Poonch, Mangla Dam near Mirpur, and Muzaffarabad in POK.

These venues provide access to rivers, reservoirs, and coastal infrastructure, enabling structured practice in swimming, diving, and boat handling. The inclusion of Karachi and Mangla Dam is particularly significant, as both locations offer proximity to major ports, naval facilities, and inland waterways that can be used for both training and future staging.

Potential Targets and Attack Scenarios

The development of maritime capabilities provides militant organisations with alternative infiltration routes that can bypass heavily monitored land borders, particularly along the India–Pakistan axis. Using small boats, divers, or amphibious teams, operatives could approach coastal areas with limited detection, especially at night or within congested maritime zones where fishing and commercial traffic complicate monitoring. This approach allows small, highly trained cells to infiltrate urban coastal environments and carry out coordinated attacks against multiple targets in a short timeframe, prioritising precision while maximising disruption, media attention, and psychological impact.

Potential targets would likely include major coastal cities and maritime infrastructure, with Mumbai remaining the most symbolically significant due to the legacy of the 2008 attacks and its concentration of hotels, transport hubs, and financial institutions, though cities such as Kochi, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, and Port Blair could also be targeted to test India’s coastal security across different regions.

Ports, naval facilities, energy infrastructure, and waterfront tourist districts would be particularly vulnerable due to their visibility and limited shoreline defences.

Source TRAC Watch Weekly Analyst Review of 6 March 2026