Operation Sindoor: Jaish-e-Mohammed founder and Pulwama attack mastermind Masood Azhar breaks down in tears, says 10 family members killed in Bahawalpur

Under ‘Operation Sindoor’, the IAF on the wee hours carried out night raids on the nine hideouts located in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and targeted terror headquarters of banned Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba. Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes on terror targets, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba’s base in Muridke.

According to various reports, Indian forces killed 14 family members of the Jaish-e-Mohammed founder Masood Azhar in a 25-minute operation carried out in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, as per sources.

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.

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.

The elusive Azhar, who has not been seen in public since April 2019, is believed to be hiding in a “safe place” in Bahawalpur.

At a press conference, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Col. Sofia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh briefed the media about details of the operation that lasted for 25 minutes. Misri said the actions were measured, non-escalatory, proportionate and responsible.

“Despite a fortnight having passed since the attack, there has been no demonstrable step from Pakistan to take action against the terrorist infrastructure on its territory or territory under its control. Instead all it has indulged in is denial and allegations,” he said.

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