In a significant admission, Jaish-e-Mohammad’s top commander Masood Ilyas Kashmiri has confirmed that family members of the group’s chief, Maulana Masood Azhar, were killed in India’s Operation Sindoor strike on Bahawalpur. Speaking in a video flanked by heavily armed Pakistani Army personnel, Kashmiri said Azhar’s family had been “torn into pieces” during the 7 May attack.

The strike, targeting Jaish’s headquarters at Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah, marked one of the most direct blows against the Pakistan-based terror outfit.

ALSO READ

After Operation Sindoor, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar on Wednesday admitted that 10 members of his family and four close associates were killed in an Indian missile strike on the group’s headquarters in Bahawalpur. In a statement attributed to Azhar, he identified the deceased as his elder sister and her husband, a nephew and his wife, another niece, and five children from his extended family. The statement also confirmed the deaths of one of his key associate, his mother, and two other close companions, reports PTI. The Indian missile strike targeted the Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur, which served as JeM’s central command facility.

What happened on May 7?

According to Kashmiri, at least ten members of Azhar’s family died in the operation. Among them were Azhar’s elder sister, her husband, several children, and close relatives. The casualties also included Mohammad Yusuf Azhar – Masood Azhar’s brother-in-law – a senior Jaish leader wanted for his role in the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814. Four close associates of Azhar were also reported killed.

The rare acknowledgment by Jaish, traditionally reluctant to admit losses, has been widely shared on social media in Pakistan.

Operation Sindoor

Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 following a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on 22 April that killed 26 civilians, most of them tourists. The Indian Armed Forces carried out coordinated strikes on nine terrorist camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, targeting infrastructure belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.

ALSO READ

Indian officials stated the strikes were carefully planned to avoid civilian harm, focusing solely on terror infrastructure. Pakistan, however, claimed that 26 people were killed and 46 injured, accusing India of targeting civilians.

Following the Bahawalpur strike, Pakistan retaliated with missile and drone attacks on Indian airbases. These were successfully intercepted by Indian defences, but the exchanges underscored the volatile state of India-Pakistan relations.