'No regret, despair': JeM chief Masood Azhar after kin killed in Operation Sindoor
Masood Azhar, listed as a 'gobal terrorist' by UNSC admitted that 10 of his family members and 4 others killed were killed in India's missile attack on his HQ
Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar acknowledged on Wednesday (May 7) that 10 members of his family and four close associates were killed in India's missile attack on the outfit's headquarters in Bahawalpur.
A statement attributed to Azhar said those killed in the attack on Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur included the JeM chief's elder sister and her husband, a nephew and his wife, another niece, and five children from his extended family. Azhar, who is designated as a "global terrorist" by the UN Security Council, is the one who was arrested in India in 1994 and released after the Air India IC 814 hijack.
'No expectation of mercy'
Azhar said in his statement, "Ten members of my family were blessed with this happiness together tonight... five are innocent children, my elder sister, her honorable husband. My scholar Fazil bhanje (nephew) and his wife and my beloved scholar Fazilah (niece) ... my dear brother Huzaifah and his mother. Two more dear companions."
Also read: Post Operation Sindoor, LeT aide posts clips of funerals in Muridke, Bahawalpur
The statement further mentioned that the attack also claimed the lives of one of Azhar's close associates and his mother, along with two other close companions.
"This act of brutality has broken all boundaries. There should be no expectation of mercy now," it added. Azhar also stated that he has "neither regret nor despair".
"Rather, it comes to my heart again and again that I too would have joined this fourteen-member happy caravan," he added. The terrorist said, "Time for their departure had come, but the Lord did not kill them."
Global terrorist in Pakistan
The elusive Azhar, who has not been seen in public since April 2019, is hiding in a "safe place" in Pakistan. He also invited people to the funeral prayers today.
While it is an open secret that the terrorist is in Pakistan, Islamabad has repeatedly denied having information about him.
Also read: Photos, details: All 9 Pak terror sites hit by Operation Sindoor
Fifty-six-year-old Masood Azhar has been involved in the conspiracy behind multiple terror attacks in India, including the 2001 Parliament attack, 2008 Mumbai attacks, 2016 Pathankot attack and 2019 Pulwama attack. Bahawalpur became the hub of the JeM after the release of Azhar in exchange for the hijacked passengers of IC-814 in 1999.
In May 2019, the United Nations designated Azhar a "global terrorist" after China lifted its hold on a proposal to blacklist the JeM chief, a decade after New Delhi approached the world body for the first time on the issue.
Operation Sindoor
India fired 24 precision missiles at nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir on May 7 to avenge the terror attack in Pahalgam, in which 26 tourists were killed in cold blood. Indian government sources have said over 70 terrorists were killed and more than 60 wounded in the strikes.
Indian officials have expressed regret for civilian casualties but stressed that all efforts were made to keep them to a minimum. The targets were carefully vetted and found to be directly linked to terrorist activity.
Indian government sources told the media that terrorist groups often embed their facilities in densely populated civilian areas, complicating any effort to avoid non-combatant casualties completely.
According to them, the collateral damage was notably restrained, especially considering the scale and spread of the operation. This was possible because of India's use of precision-guided munitions, as well as the selection of targets during late-night hours when civilian presence was minimal.
However, Pakistan had not responded in a similar manner and was targeting civilian areas. In the briefing to the press after the attack, defence officials shared visuals, showing clearly that the surgical strikes' impact was largely restricted to targeted compounds.
The Pakistan military said that 26 people were killed and 46 others injured in the attack.
Meanwhile, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said that all those injured in the Bahawalpur attack have been shifted to Victoria Hospital and given the best treatment.