Masood Azhar’s family was ‘torn into pieces’, admits JeM

Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) commander Masood Ilyas Kashmiri has admitted that the family of the terror group founder Masood Azhar was "torn into pieces" in the Indian precision strikes on Bahawalpur during Operation Sindoor.

A video message of Ilyas, shot at an unidentified location in Pakistan, has gone viral on social media. Shared by BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya, the video shows Ilyas delivering a message in Urdu. “Embracing terrorism, we fought Delhi, Kabul and Kandahar for protecting the borders of this country. After sacrificing everything, on May 7, Masood Azhar's family was torn apart by the Indian forces in Bahawalpur,” he said.

On May 7, India had launched Operation Sindoor, a series of coordinated strikes on terror infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, in response to the April 22 Pahalgam massacre.

One of the key targets was the JeM headquarters in Bahawalpur where at least 10 members of Azhar’s family and four close associates were killed. Those killed reportedly included Azhar’s elder sister and her husband, his nephew and wife, a niece, five children from the extended family and senior operatives of the group.

Pakistan has accused India of targeting civilian areas while New Delhi maintains the strikes were precise and directed only at terror camps. “Ilyas' admission marks a rare acknowledgment from within the terror outfit of the extent of the losses suffered by Azhar’s family,” said a security official.

India's precision strikes had resulted in eliminating at least five high-value operatives tied to proscribed groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish. Over 70 terrorists were reportedly killed and more than 60 injured. Among those killed was Mudassar Khadian Khas, also known as Abu Jundal, a senior Lashkar operative.