India’s recent military action, called Operation Sindoor, successfully killed around 100 terrorists. Among them was Abdul Rauf Azhar, one of the most wanted terrorists by India. Abdul Rauf Azhar was involved in the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which led to the release of terrorist Omar Saeed Sheikh. Later, Omar kidnapped and murdered Daniel Pearl, a Jewish-American journalist working for The Wall Street Journal, in 2002.
With Abdul Rauf Azhar killed, many believe that justice has finally been served to Daniel Pearl’s family — after 23 years. One of the places destroyed in the operation was in Bahawalpur, a city in Pakistan known to be the home base of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group. JeM, led by Masood Azhar (Abdul Rauf’s brother), is behind major attacks in India — including the 2001 Parliament attack and the 2019 Pulwama attack.
Out of the nine terror camps targeted by India on May 7, one was a major JeM site in Bahawalpur. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) later confirmed that Abdul Rauf Azhar was killed in the airstrike.
Abdul Rauf was involved in the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814. Because of that hijacking, India had to release a terrorist named Omar Saeed Sheikh. Later, Omar kidnapped and killed Daniel Pearl, an American journalist, in Karachi.
Asra Nomani, an Indian-American journalist and a former colleague of Pearl, recalled the deep ties between Bahawalpur and Pearl’s murder. In a post on X, she shared how this operation felt like a long-overdue response.
About Daniel Pearl
Daniel Pearl was working in New Delhi before he was moved to Karachi after the September 11 attacks in the U.S. He was investigating links between terror groups and Pakistan’s intelligence agency when he was kidnapped on January 23, 2002.
The kidnappers called themselves the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty. They wrongly accused Daniel of being an Israeli spy and made demands to the U.S. government, which were not met. A few days later, Daniel Pearl was killed, and his murder was recorded on video.
Before his death, Daniel said, “My father’s Jewish, my mother’s Jewish, I’m Jewish. My family follows Judaism. Back in the town of Bnei Brak, there is a street named after my great grandfather, Chaim Pearl, who was one of the founders of the town.”
2025 Operation Sindoor
Fast forward to 2025, and India’s retaliation doctrine has reached its most ambitious phase with Operation Sindoor. This operation represents a quantum leap in the scale and sophistication of India’s military actions, making it the most extensive cross-border operation in five decades. In retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 civilians, including 25 Indians and one Nepali, the Indian armed forces launched a series of precision missile strikes on nine terrorist sites across Pakistan and PoK.
Objective: The aim was not only to retaliate against the Pahalgam attack but also to significantly degrade the terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK. The operation targeted high-value terror sites that had been under surveillance for an extended period.
Method: The Indian armed forces deployed a range of advanced technologies, including SCALP cruise missiles, HAMMER precision-guided bombs, and loitering munitions. The operation was executed with a tri-service strategy, involving the Army, Air Force, and Navy.
Message: Operation Sindoor demonstrated India’s capability to launch rapid, simultaneous strikes on multiple targets, even deep within Pakistan-occupied territories. It reinforced India’s willingness to take the fight to its enemies, sending a message to Pakistan that no target is beyond India’s reach.
Significance: This operation marked a departure from previous doctrines, involving deeper penetration into Pakistani territory and the use of advanced weaponry and platforms. With 24 missile strikes on nine locations, Operation Sindoor is India’s largest and most sophisticated military retaliation yet. Over 70 militants were reported killed, sending a strong message to terrorist networks in the region.
Comments