Pakistan: Key JeM stronghold reduced to rubble after Indian strike under ‘Operation Sindoor’

After India’s successful execution of the counter-terror offensive under ‘Operation Sindoor’ in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) on Wednesday, a hotbed of terror activity in Bahawalpur city of Punjab was reduced to rubble. Bhawalpur hosts the Markaz Subhan Allah, operational since 2015, the main centre of Jaish-e-Mohammad for training and indoctrination and serves as operational headquarter of JeM. It is associated with terrorist plannings by JeM including Pulwama attack on Feb 14, 2019. The Markaz consists of residences of JeM Chief Maulana Masood Azhar, de-facto Chief of JeM Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar, Maulana Ammar and other family members of Masood Azhar. Masood Azhar has made several addresses from this facility extolling anti – India rhetoric and appealing to youth to join Islamic Jihad. JeM conducts regular arms, physical and religious training for its cadres at Markaz Subhan Allah.

The visuals obtained by Reuters show the terror infrastructure in Bahawalpur completely destroyed following the missile strikes carried out by the Indian Armed Forces under ‘Operation Sindoor’ on Wednesday.

Addressing a press briefing on ‘Operation Sindoor’ in Delhi on Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh outlined the objectives of the operation. A total of nine terror sites in Pakistan including five in PoJK linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) were targeted with meticulous planning to avoid civilian casualties.

Colonel Qureshi detailed the targeted camps, stating that the four terrorist camps destroyed in Pakistan are Bahawalpur, Muridke, Sarjal, and Mehmoona Joya.

She also confirmed the destruction of Markaz Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, located 100 km inside Pakistan, stating, “It was the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed, targeted by Indian Armed Forces.”Wing Commander Vyomika Singh elaborated on the operation’s strategic intent, stating, “‘Operation Sindoor’ was a retaliation to the horrific Pahalgam terror attack of April 22 to serve justice to the innocent victims and their families. Nine terror camps were targeted and destroyed.”She revealed that Pakistan has maintained a complex terror infrastructure for three decades, comprising 21 recruitment, indoctrination, and launch pad centres across Pakistan and PoJK.

“The targets for Operation Sindoor were based on credible intelligence inputs and locations that were so selected to avoid damage to civilian infrastructure and loss of civilian lives,” Singh added, underscoring the operation’s precision.

The strikes, executed between 1:05 am and 1:30 am on Wednesday, involved a coordinated effort by the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, targeting key facilities like the JeM and LeT bases in Pakistan as well as PoJK.