JeM chief confirms deaths in India’s targeted airstrikes; says those killed are “guests of Allah”
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar has confirmed that ten members of his family and four aides were killed in India’s targeted airstrikes under Operation Sindoor, launched in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack. The airstrikes targeted multiple terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), with the JeM headquarters in Bahawalpur—Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah—among the sites hit.
In a statement, Azhar—who was arrested in India in 1994 and later released during the 1999 IC-814 hijacking—revealed that the deceased included his elder sister, her husband, a nephew and his wife, a niece, and five children from his extended family.
“Ten members of my family were blessed with this happiness together tonight… five are innocent children, my elder sister, her honorable husband, my scholar nephew and his wife, my beloved scholar niece, my dear brother Huzaifah and his mother. Two more dear companions,” Azhar said.
He described the deceased as “guests of Allah” and expressed neither grief nor remorse.
“I feel neither regret nor despair,” he claimed. “Rather, I wish I too had joined this fourteen-member happy caravan.”
Azhar, listed as a UN-designated global terrorist, is wanted for his role in orchestrating several major terror attacks in India—including the 2001 Parliament attack, 2008 Mumbai attacks, 2016 Pathankot attack, and 2019 Pulwama bombing. Despite global pressure, Pakistan continues to deny his presence on its soil.
Government sources say over 70 terrorists were killed and more than 60 injured. While India expressed regret over civilian casualties, it emphasized that every effort was made to minimize them.
“Terrorist groups often embed their infrastructure within civilian areas, making it extremely difficult to avoid collateral damage entirely,” a defence official said. “But due to the use of late-night timing and precision munitions, the strikes were tightly focused and largely confined to target compounds.”
Indian officials also stated that Pakistan is now inflating civilian casualties to gain international sympathy. Visuals shared with the media showed minimal surrounding damage, indicating restraint and precision in India’s surgical strikes.
