Who is Masood Azhar? ‘Global terrorist’ who lost 10 family members in India’s Operation Sindoor

NEW DELHI: Masood Azhar, the chief of terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed, lost 10 family members and four close aides in ‘Operation Sindoor’, a major cross-border strike by the Indian Army targeting terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

As per news agency PTI, the air and artillery strikes hit Markaz Subhan Allah, Jaish’s key training base located on the Karachi-Torkham Highway near Bahawalpur in Pakistan’s Punjab. Spread over 15 acres, the facility also housed Azhar himself, along with JeM’s de-facto chief Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar, Maulana Ammar, and other senior operatives.

Indian forces targeted and destroyed nine terror sites in retaliation for the recent Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, including one Nepali national. "The operation was focused, measured and non-escalatory," the ministry said, adding that Pakistani military targets were deliberately avoided. "We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable."

Masood Azhar, already designated a "global terrorist" by the UN in 2019, is no stranger to Indian intelligence. He orchestrated the deadly 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing, which killed 40 CRPF personnel, and was also linked to the 2001 Parliament attack that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war.

Azhar was born in Bahawalpur and radicalised during his time at Jamia Islamia Binori Town in Karachi. Influenced by Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, he travelled to Afghanistan for arms training at just 21.

Azhar, in his own statement, confirmed the death of his relatives and aides during the Indian Army’s precision strike.