Operation Sindoor: Is Jaish-e-Mohammed founder Masood Azhar Dead? All you need to know

New Delhi: The Indian Armed Forces on Wednesday launched a deadly attack on 9 terror camps in Pakistan and PoK two weeks after the horrific Pahalgam terror attack. Indian armed forces carried out missile attacks early Wednesday on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including Bahawalpur which is a major base of Jaish-e-Mohammad terror outfit. According to the Pakistan’s local media, a madrasa linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar in Bahawalpur was among the targets hit during the missile strikes carried out by Indian forces early Wednesday morning.

Reports further added that several Pakistani news outlets, the madrasa – located on the outskirts of Bahawalpur in Punjab province – suffered damage in the precision strikes. The religious seminary has long been associated with JeM activities and has previously come under international scrutiny for allegedly sheltering and training terrorists.

Is Maulana Masood Azhar Dead?

Maulana Masood Azhar, the founder of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), is a UN-designated global terrorist accused of orchestrating multiple major terror attacks in India, including the 2019 Pulwama bombing that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel. However, there are no official reports confirming whether he was killed in the Indian airstrike.

The military strikes were carried out under ‘Operation Sindoor’, the Indian Army said in a statement released at 1.44 am. “A little while ago, the Indian Armed forces launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed,” the Army said.

It said the actions by the Indian Armed forces have been “focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature”. “No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution,” the Indian Army said.

India’s actions came two weeks after the Pahalgam terror attack triggered widespread outrage in India and abroad. “These steps come in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered,” the Army said in the statement.

“We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable,” it said.

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