In a bold and precisely coordinated military response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, India launched Operation Sindoor, a series of surgical airstrikes across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). The strikes, conducted in the early hours of Wednesday, marked one of the most significant anti-terror actions in recent years, neutralising over 80 terrorists and dismantling critical jihadist infrastructure. Among those killed were ten close relatives and associates of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) founder Masood Azhar, targeted at the group’s headquarters Markaz Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur.
Sources confirmed that 25–30 terrorists were eliminated at this site alone. Another major strike was executed at Markaz Taiba in Muridke, the ideological nerve centre of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), where operatives involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, including Ajmal Kasab and David Headley, were trained.
Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who led the official briefing, revealed that visual confirmations from the sites to highlight the significant structural damage to terror camps. She also confirmed the strike on Sarjal Camp in Sialkot, believed to be the training site for terrorists involved in killing four Jammu and Kashmir police officers.
Hafiz Abdul Malik, a high-value Lashkar target, was reportedly eliminated during the Muridke strike. Another key target destroyed was the Shawai Nallah Camp (Bait-ul-Mujahideen) in Muzaffarabad, a known Lashkar facility on the Muzaffarabad–Neelum road where 26/11 attackers had received their training.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stated that the terror group claiming responsibility for the Pahalgam massacre, The Resistance Front is a known proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba, and evidence has emerged of cross-border coordination and communication.
Despite the extensive damage inflicted, India maintained that its operation was “focused, measured, and non-escalatory,” with no Pakistani military installations targeted.
Operation Sindoor was named in honour of the women who lost their husbands in the Pahalgam attack. It’s a symbolic tribute to the sanctity of sindoor, representing marital commitment and dignity. It stands both as a counter-terror mission and a humane response — a message that India will not allow its people, or its symbols of love and life, to be violated with impunity.
