Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar on Wednesday acknowledged that ten members of his family and four close aides were killed in Indian missile strikes targeting the terror outfit’s headquarters in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. The airstrikes were part of Operation Sindoor, India’s retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
According to a statement attributed to Azhar, those killed at the Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah included his elder sister and her husband, a nephew and his wife, a niece, and five children from his extended family. Among the JeM cadres eliminated were a key associate, his mother, and two other trusted companions.
“This act of brutality has broken all boundaries. There should be no expectation of mercy now,” the statement warned, hinting at potential retaliation.
Bahawalpur has long been the operational nerve centre for JeM, ever since Azhar’s release in 1999 following the hijacking of IC-814. Though designated a global terrorist by the United Nations in 2019, Azhar has remained elusive and is believed to be hiding in a protected area of Bahawalpur.
The JeM has been behind some of India’s deadliest terror attacks, including the 2001 Parliament assault, the 2000 J&K Assembly bombing, the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack, and the Pulwama suicide bombing in 2019.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari confirmed that all injured from the Bahawalpur strike were transferred to Victoria Hospital and were receiving treatment. The Pakistan military reported 26 deaths and 46 injuries in the strike, though Indian sources maintain the operation specifically targeted terrorist infrastructure without hitting military installations.
As tensions between India and Pakistan intensify, Masood Azhar’s declaration and vow of vengeance mark a significant escalation in the already volatile regional equation.
