In a significant blow to the terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Indian intelligence sources have confirmed that Masood Azhar’s brother—also the second-in-command of the outfit—was critically injured during Indian airstrikes conducted under Operation Sindoor. He is currently undergoing treatment at a Pakistani military hospital.
The development follows a statement by JeM chief Masood Azhar, in which he acknowledged the death of 14 family members and four close aides in the Indian strike. Among those killed were his elder sister and her husband, his nephew and his wife, another niece, five children, his mother, and three top aides, as reported by BBC Urdu.
Operation Sindoor, launched by the Indian Air Force in the early hours of Wednesday, marked the country’s most extensive cross-border air offensive since the Balakot strikes. The operation targeted nine high-value terrorist locations across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians, mostly tourists.
One of the key targets was the JeM stronghold in Bahawalpur, Punjab—a city long considered the operational nerve centre of the group. Indian missiles struck the Subhan Allah complex, which includes JeM’s Jamia Masjid and the Usman-o-Ali campus. Visuals accessed by India Today confirmed extensive damage, with major buildings reduced to rubble.
The Bahawalpur facility, also known as Markaz Subhanallah, has been JeM’s principal hub for training and indoctrination. Intelligence reports suggest that the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing, which killed 40 CRPF personnel, was planned at this very site.
Founded in 2000 by Masood Azhar with support from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Osama bin Laden, and the Taliban, JeM has been a central player in cross-border terrorism. Azhar himself is a UN-designated global terrorist who was released by India in 1999 in exchange for the hijacked passengers of Indian Airlines flight IC-814.
In addition to Bahawalpur, Operation Sindoor also targeted Lashkar-e-Taiba’s base in Muridke, the JeM camp at Sarjal Tehra Kalan in Narowal, and several terror facilities in PoK, including Kotli, Muzaffarabad, Barnala, and Sialkot. According to officials, these locations were carefully selected based on credible intelligence. Many of the sites were disguised as civilian establishments to avoid international scrutiny and Financial Action Task Force (FATF) oversight.
The Indian Defence Ministry stated, “A little while ago, the Indian Armed Forces launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.” It emphasized that India had exercised restraint in choosing targets and methods of execution.
Pakistan’s military spokesperson has confirmed to the BBC that both Bahawalpur and Muridke were among the sites targeted in the airstrikes.
As more information emerges, the confirmed injury of Masood Azhar’s brother and the death of multiple family members represent a severe setback for JeM’s leadership, casting doubt on the group’s operational capabilities and highlighting Pakistan’s continued harbouring of globally recognized terrorists.
