Operation Sindoor: Jaish admits Masood Azhar’s family killed in Indian airstrike on Bahawalpur headquarters
In Bahawalpur, Pakistan’s 12th-largest city located nearly 400 km from Lahore, at least 10 of Azhar’s close relatives were killed
PTC Web Desk: For the first time, terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) has publicly acknowledged that members of its chief Masood Azhar’s family were killed in India’s Operation Sindoor, carried out in Bahawalpur earlier this year.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, Jaish commander Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, seen flanked by armed guards, confirmed the losses. He revealed that the May 7 airstrike by Indian forces on Jaish’s headquarters — Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur — caused unprecedented damage.
“After sacrificing everything, on May 7, Maulana Masood Azhar’s family was torn apart by Indian forces in Bahawalpur,” Kashmiri declared in the clip, admitting that Azhar’s relatives were among those killed.
Operation Sindoor was carried out in retaliation for the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 25 tourists. In one of its deepest strikes inside Pakistan, the Indian Air Force targeted nine terror hubs, leaving several structures destroyed.
In Bahawalpur, Pakistan’s 12th-largest city located nearly 400 km from Lahore, at least 10 of Azhar’s close relatives were killed. The casualties included his sister, her husband, a nephew, a niece, and children from his extended family. Four senior aides of the JeM chief also lost their lives in the pre-dawn strike. Satellite images later confirmed extensive damage to the mosque compound, including one of its domes.
Although Pakistan never officially confirmed the deaths, eyewitness accounts and foreign media outlets reported that state funerals were quietly conducted in May for Azhar’s family members. Masood Azhar himself, who rarely appears in public, was briefly present at the ceremony before leaving the venue.