Operation Sindoor: Terrorist Masood Azhar Confirms Death of Family Members in Indian Air Strikes

In the quiet hours following India’s precision airstrikes under Operation Sindoor, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar broke his silence. In a statement attributed to him and reported by PTI, Azhar confirmed that 14 people — including 10 members of his own family — were killed when Indian missiles struck the JeM headquarters in Bahawalpur.
The target, Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah, a sprawling complex long linked to JeM’s command structure, was one of the nine sites hit during the 25-minute operation carried out jointly by India’s Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Azhar, once jailed in India and released during the 1999 IC-814 hijacking episode, spoke with an air of defiance, not grief. “Ten members of my family were blessed with this happiness tonight,” he said, referring to the dead as “guests of Allah.”

Among the dead, according to him, were his elder sister, her husband, a nephew and his wife, a niece, and five children.

“My dear brother Huzaifah and his mother. Two more dear companions,” he added, describing the loss in spiritual terms rather than sorrow. “It comes to my heart again and again that I too would have joined this fourteen-member happy caravan.”
He ended the message by inviting followers to join the funeral prayers.

India’s operation was launched in retaliation for the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which left 26 civilians dead. According to Indian government sources, the coordinated missile barrage targeted terror hubs across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, with over 70 terrorists killed and 60 injured. Bahawalpur, long considered a JeM stronghold, was among the primary targets.

While the Indian government confirmed the destruction of key terror infrastructure, officials stressed that no Pakistani military facilities were struck and civilian casualties were kept to a minimum through precision-guided weapons and drone surveillance.

Azhar’s confirmation of deaths within his own family adds a grim personal dimension to an operation already viewed as one of India’s most forceful counter-terror responses in recent years.​