Indian Strike Inside Pakistan Hits JeM Chief Masood Azhar's Family: Sister, 9 Others Killed

Ten family members of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar were killed in air strikes carried out by India on Wednesday.

India Attacks Pak & PoK

Multiple reports claim that his brother-in-law and elder sister have also been killed as India attacked nine terror base in PoK and Pakistan in the wee hours of Wednesday and all targets were successful.

The armed forces used stand-off weapons, drones and precision munitions, besides other weapons in the strike, according to a report in PTI.

9 Terror Base Attacked By India

The strikes, executed using stand-off weapons, drones, and precision-guided munitions, focused on dismantling terror infrastructure while avoiding Pakistani military installations. Key locations hit included Muridke, near Lahore, which houses Lashkar-e-Taiba's (LeT) sprawling headquarters, and Bahawalpur, JeM's primary stronghold in Pakistan's Punjab province. Additional targets in PoK-Kotli and Muzaffarabad-harbored long-standing LeT and JeM training camps. Other facilities destroyed included a Hizbul Mujahideen base in Sialkot and LeT's Markaz Ahle Hadith in Barnala.

Codenamed Operation Sindoor, the mission paid tribute to the Hindu women widowed in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, with the vermilion symbolizing marital sacrifice. The government emphasized that the strikes were a defensive response aimed at disrupting future cross-border terrorism.

At a media briefing, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, alongside Col. Sofia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, described the operation as "measured, proportionate, and non-escalatory." He referenced the UN Security Council's condemnation of the Pahalgam attack, reiterating the global call to hold terrorists and their sponsors accountable.

Officials confirmed that four targets were struck in Pakistan's Punjab and five in PoK, hitting terror hubs while deliberately steering clear of military establishments to avoid broader escalation. The government asserted that the action was solely intended to disable terrorist networks responsible for attacks on Indian soil.

PM Chairs Cabinet Meeting

Hours after 'Operation Sindoor' was launched to destroy terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the Union Cabinet.

He will also chair a meeting of the Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS), which will take stock of the evolving situation.

The PM had earlier given full operational freedom to the armed forces to decide on the targets, manner and timing of the action against terror following the Pahalgam attack.