The two expert trainers and their ten-odd aides familiarized the trainees with each of the weapons, explaining to them how they worked, how to assemble and disassemble them and their comparative weaknesses and strengths. The trainees were then taken to a small, open-air, twenty-metre firing range where they got to fire ten rounds from any weapon of their choice.

Atharv and his fellow CTC operatives performed well at the range. They silently thanked the CTC for the training they had received at the underground firing range in Delhi, where they had practised enough to feel comfortable with the weapons on offer at the camp.

The class on weapons handling was followed by the Zuhr prayer, the second of the five obligatory prayers.

At 1.30 p.m., it was time for lunch. The tired trainees tucked into their mutton biryani while keeping an eye out for what was being offered for dessert – Karachi halwa. After lunch, the trainees were told to retire to their tents, each of which accommodated ten men. The tents were pitched in an area close to the PT ground. Both sections were connected via a gravel path.

After their midday siesta, the recruits returned to the PT ground to offer the afternoon prayer, Asr, the third of the five prayers. Following the prayer, they learned about some of the finer points of the traditions and jihad from another cleric.

‘Jihad is an Arabic word, and it means to strive or work hard for justice,’ the cleric said. He did not introduce himself and came straight to the point.

‘A man once asked a maulana which kind of jihad was better. He was told, a word of truth spoken in front of an oppressive ruler. Jihad is more than just fighting your oppressors. A man wanted to join jihad. He was told, do jihad by serving your parents.’

After the cleric finished his session, the two trainers taught the trainees defensive techniques in unarmed combat, especially those based on karate, judo and street-style boxing.

It was then time for the fourth of the five obligatory prayers, which is offered after the sun sets. This was followed by a session on current affairs at 6.30 p.m. It was led by the maulana who had spoken to them about jihad, along with the senior trainer.

‘The senior Ustaad seems to be a Jack-of-all-trades,’ Atharv chuckled on seeing him again.

The maulana spoke about the loss of Muslim lives and the destruction of their property during Partition, about how provinces such as Kashmir, Junagadh and Hyderabad had been ‘denied’ to Pakistan due to the Hindu Congress’s wily ways, about the razing of the Babri Masjid and, finally, about India’s continued occupation of Kashmir. The session was thrown open to questions.

‘How can young men from our community participate in the jihad to liberate Kashmir?’ Atharv asked the maulana.

But it was the trainer who answered. ‘Offer your lives for the cause; dedicate yourself to LeT, which is fighting for Kashmir.’