On May 7, Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor, a targeted strike on nine terror infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), leading to the elimination of high-profile terrorists. Among those killed was Mohammad Yusuf Azhar, the brother-in-law of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and one of the key figures behind the 1999 Indian Airlines IC-814 hijacking.
Sources confirmed that Yusuf Azhar, a senior member of Jaish-e-Mohammad, was deeply involved in handling weapons training for JeM operatives and was responsible for coordinating several terror attacks in Jammu & Kashmir. His role in the IC-814 hijacking, which involved the seizure of an Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu to Delhi, made him a significant target for Indian forces. A Red Corner notice had been issued against him in connection with the hijacking.
The strike also claimed the life of Abdul Rauf Azhar, another top JeM figure linked to the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl, an American journalist. Judea Pearl, father of the slain journalist, expressed his gratitude to the Indian military for eliminating Azhar, detailing how the terrorist was indirectly responsible for the murder by orchestrating the hijacking that led to the release of Omar Sheikh, the man who eventually kidnapped and killed his son.
Asra Nomani, a former Wall Street Journal journalist and a colleague of Daniel Pearl, also praised India’s Operation Sindoor. She recalled the town of Bahawalpur, which had long been a hotbed of Pakistani-supported terrorism. Nomani highlighted that, in 2001, her friend Danny Pearl had reported on the militant operations in Bahawalpur, a town that housed **JeM’s Markaz Subhan Allah, a notorious facility for radicalizing and training terrorists. She emphasized that the militant camps in Bahawalpur continued to operate with the support of Pakistan’s military and intelligence services, which has allowed them to thrive.
Nomani further criticized Pakistan for failing to dismantle these terror bases, which India has now targeted in a strategic attack. She argued that Pakistan’s military and intelligence should have eliminated these terrorist networks themselves, instead of continuing their obsession with Kashmir.
The Markaz Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur is known as a JeM operational headquarters, which has been implicated in various terror attacks, including the 2019 Pulwama attack. The facility is home to Masood Azhar, his family, and several high-ranking operatives of JeM, making it a key site in the ongoing fight against terrorism in the region.
Operation Sindoor’s success in eliminating these high-profile terror figures marks a significant step in India’s ongoing efforts to neutralize terrorist threats emanating from Pakistan and PoK, further escalating the already high tensions between the two nations.
