'India avenges WSJ reporter's murder': JeM commander Abdul Rauf Azhar killed in Indian airstrikes

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  Daniel Pearl was a reporter with The Wall Street Journal

India's Operation Sindoor has not only struck at the heart of Pakistan's terror infrastructure but also delivered what many see as long-overdue justice for American-Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl.

News18, citing sources, has reported that Indian airstrikes have eliminated Abdul Rauf Azhar, operational chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed and a central conspirator in Pearl's 2002 kidnapping and murder.


Rauf Azhar, younger brother of JeM founder Masood Azhar, was also the mastermind behind the 1999 IC-814 hijacking, which resulted in the release of Al-Qaeda operative Omar Saeed Sheikh. Sheikh would later go on to abduct and behead Daniel Pearl, a reporter with The Wall Street Journal, in a brutal execution that shocked the world.


On Wednesday, Indian forces executed a precision operation striking nine terrorist locations across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The Bahawalpur strike, which targeted JeM's Markaz Subhan Allah complex, reportedly killed Azhar and 10 members of Masood Azhar's family, including his sister and brother-in-law. The JeM chief later issued a statement confirming these deaths.

Hailing the Indian strikes, American activist Amy Mek, founder of the RAIR Foundation, wrote: "Today, India delivered justice for the brutal murder of American-Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl by eliminating Abdul Rauf Azhar, the Jaish-e-Mohammed commander and key conspirator behind Pearl's kidnapping, torture, and beheading."


For years, Mek continued, the West has tolerated Pakistan's terror export while innocent lives paid the price. "India has finally done what needed to be done—targeting the very Islamic terror infrastructure that breeds jihad."


Calling Abdul Rauf Azhar more than just a terrorist, Mek wrote: "He conspired to murder Daniel Pearl... Operation Sindoor struck at the heart of terror, hitting Jaish-e-Mohammed strongholds and sending a clear message: India will not stand by while radicals slaughter non-Muslims."


"To India, we say THANK YOU. Thank you for standing strong against Islamic terror and taking the fight directly to the jihadis. The West must learn from India’s stance on Islamic terror. Islamic jihad has no place in a civilized world, and anyone who shelters these monsters must face the consequences," she said.


Pearl had disappeared in Karachi on January 23, 2002, while investigating terror networks. He was reportedly scheduled to interview a religious leader when he was abducted near a café. His captors, calling themselves the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty, accused him of being a spy and demanded the release of Pakistani prisoners held by the US. Later, Pearl was killed and his body was discovered on May 16, 2002.


India's Operation Sindoor — a measured yet forceful response to the Pahalgam terror attack — targeted key infrastructure used by JeM and Lashkar-e-Taiba, including facilities at Bahawalpur and Muridke.


Markaz Subhan Allah, located at NH-5 (Karachi-Torkham Highway) on the outskirts of Bahawalpur, is main centre of JeM for training and indoctrination of youth. This Markaz serves as the operational headquarter of JeM and associated with terrorist plannings including Pulwama attack on Feb 14, 2019.
Perpetrators of Pulwama attack were trained at this camp.The Markaz also consists of residences of JeM Chief Maulana Masood Azhar, de-facto Chief of JeM Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar, Maulana Ammar and other family members.