JeM Commander’s Big Reveal On Op Sindoor: Masood Azhar’s Family Torn In Pieces, ‘After Sacrificing Every…’

The seeds of India’s May 7 counterterror operation were sown on April 22, when a Lashkar-e-Taiba wing carried out a brutal attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam. The terror attack on tourists in the Baisaran Valley left 26 civilians dead, in what was one of the most devastating terror incidents in recent years.

For New Delhi, the strike demanded not just a response, but a decisive message against Pakistan-backed terror. Launched on May 7, under Operation Sindoor, Indian forces executed precision strikes on Bahawalpur and eight other terror hubs across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Bahawalpur hit: A strategic target?

Bahawalpur, in Pakistan’s Punjab province, housed Jaish-e-Mohammad’s nerve centre – Markaz Subhanallah – a sprawling facility along NH-5 (the Karachi–Torkham Highway). This headquarters had trained cadres, hosted over 600 fighters, and plotted multiple terror strikes against India, including the 2019 Pulwama attack.

It was here that the Pulwama attackers were indoctrinated and trained. For India, neutralising this hub meant striking at the very heart of Jaish’s operations.

Op Sindoor: How strikes change the battlefield?

Among the key targets were JeM’s headquarters in Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Muridke base. Each of these centres have been long accused of sheltering anti-India terror. Both of them was reduced to rubble in the strikes by the Indian armed forces.

In Bahawalpur, the strike tore through the family of Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar, a fact admitted by JeM’s own top commander Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, in a video now circulating online. His shaken words confirmed the devastating blow inflicted on the group’s leadership.

Accompanied by gun-wielding personnel, Kashmiri is heard explaining how the forces attacked them after identifying their hideout. “Embracing terrorism, we fought Delhi, Kabul and Kandahar for protecting the borders of this country,” he is heard saying. “After sacrificing everything, on May 7, Maulana Masood Azhar’s family was torn apart by the Indian forces in Bahawalpur.”

Did Pakistan attempt a counter?

In retaliation, Pakistan launched drone and missile attacks over consecutive nights. But India’s layered air defence systems intercepted and neutralized these, ensuring zero loss of life and property on Indian soil. India then escalated with precision strikes on Pakistani air infrastructure, hitting Nur Khan Airbase and Rahim Yar Khan Airbase.

Operation Sindoor is being seen as a watershed in India’s military response against cross-border terror. Unlike earlier limited retaliations, this was a multi-wave campaign targeting both terror infrastructure and Pakistani military assets. India has clearly delivered a powerful message – terror will invite decisive and escalatory responses.

Operation Sindoor victory: How significant was it?

The admission by JeM commander Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, acknowledging the destruction of Azhar’s family and the organization’s headquarters, is itself proof of India’s success. By taking the battle deep inside Pakistan’s heartland, India signaled that the days of one-sided provocation were over.