Mission Accomplished

The May 7 onslaught on the anti-India Islamic terror bases well inside Pakistan (Markaz Subhan Allah, Bahawalpur; Markaz Taiba, Muridke; Sarjal; Tehra Kalan; Mehmoona Joya, Sialkot; Markaz Ahle Hadith, Barnala; Markaz Abbas and Maskar Raheel Shahid, both in Kotli; and Sawai Nalla Camp and Syedna Bilal Camp, both at Muzaffarabad) signifies a complete annihilation of the Pakistan-based terror groups. From the Indian point of view, it was a “Mission Accomplished,” as it was intended to hit only the terror strongholds to eliminate the terrorists responsible for the heinous killings of the 26 tourists, including one local pony rider, in Pahalgam (April 22).

The destruction of the terror bastions broke the backbone of Pakistan’s terror entities, especially the unholy nexus of Hizb-ul Mujahideen (HM), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). Many of those killed included individuals directly responsible for the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC-814. The message sent across the border was strong, loud, and clear!

While discussing the complete destruction of terror bases deep inside Pakistan, it is also pertinent to state, with assertion, that this operation was professionally no less than Operation Neptune Spear, conducted by the US Special Forces comprising elite Navy SEALs, which successfully neutralised Al Qaeda supremo Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011. That operation is widely hailed as a classic case of exterminating a global terrorist of bin Laden’s stature. However, Operation Sindoor, which eliminated terrorists and their hideouts on May 7, is no less of an achievement on the part of the Indian bravehearts.

It also confirms India’s technological superiority, precise and pinpoint intelligence, and perfect coordination between the Indian Air Force, Army, and multiple intelligence agencies. This proves that Indian professionalism is par excellence in combating anti-India terrorists sheltered in Pakistan. It is now clear that the terrorist camps can be reached with clockwork military precision and zero margin of error. It’s, therefore, time that those who hail Operation Neptune Spear as the best-known counter-terror operation must also acknowledge India’s superb professionalism, as demonstrated in ample measure by Operation Sindoor deep inside Pakistan.

According to Indian security officials, India hit nine terror camps of JeM, LeT, and HM in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and in mainland Pakistan. Hafiz Muhammad Jameel and Mohammad Yusuf Azhar — both brothers-in-law of JeM founder Maulana Masood Azhar — LeT commanders Mudassar Khadian, Khalid, and JeM’s Mohammad Hassan Khan were among those killed.

According to a report in The Hindu (May 11), for more than three decades, these three outfits have been responsible for attacks across India, including the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2008 Mumbai attack, and the recent (April 22) Pahalgam massacre. The destruction of HM is particularly significant. Founded in 1989, HM started operating in PoK’s Muzaffarabad with the aim of integrating Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan. As the militant wing of Pakistan’s Islamist organisation Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), Hizb was created at the behest of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). It has a cadre strength of over 1,500, and is headed by Mohammed Yusuf Shah, also known as Syed Salahuddin.

It operates in five divisions, targeting Srinagar, Kupwara, Bandipora, Baramulla, Anantnag, Pulwama, Doda, Rajouri, Poonch, and Udhampur. Hizb has units in both Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Through the years, Hizb has clashed with the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) — another ISI-funded group, which pleads for Kashmir “independence.”

Since long, the group has been responsible for several attacks on elected leaders in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), grenade attacks on J&K police stations, bomb attacks on military personnel, and the Delhi High Court blast of 2011. Top leaders including Ahsan Dar, Ashraf Dar, Maqbool Alla, Burhan Wani, Riyaz Naikoo, and Sabzar Bhat have already been killed by Indian security forces. Significantly, it was designated a terrorist organisation by the US in 2017.

Besides, another dreaded outfit hit by Operation Sindoor is LeT, which was founded in Afghanistan’s Kunar province in 1990. Its active presence was first established in 1993 when its cadres infiltrated across the Line of Control (LoC). Funded by Pakistan’s Islamist organisation Markaz-ad-Dawa-wal-Irshad, LeT challenges India’s sovereignty over Kashmir and believes in uniting all Muslim-majority regions in Asia to impose Islamic rule. Its chief, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, set up its headquarters in Muridke and is currently “imprisoned” in Pakistan’s Central Lahore Jail for terror financing. Apart from Muridke, LeT has bases in Muzaffarabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Multan, Quetta, Gujranwala, and Sialkot, and operates several Islamic institutions, schools, clinics, and seminaries across Pakistan. LeT has recruited cadres from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, Bahrain, Türkiye, and Libya. It has an active presence in J&K with over 700 cadres.

Further, networking with several other terror outfits like al-Qaeda, LeT has been responsible for some of India’s deadliest terror attacks, such as the Mumbai train attacks (2006), the 26/11 attack (2008), the Akshardham temple attack (2002), serial blasts in Varanasi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, and several suicide attacks on security bases. Post-1999, LeT also resorted to fidayeen assaults.

Importantly, under pressure from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Pakistan government arrested Hafiz Saeed in 2019 and sentenced him to 11 years of imprisonment for terror financing. LeT has been outlawed in India and designated as a terrorist organisation by the US in 2002. Under international pressure, the Pakistani government also banned the group.

In its report, The Hindu continues to state that the third terror outfit which was hit is JeM, which was responsible for the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in Kandahar. The hijackers’ release was subsequently facilitated by Harakat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) for the release of its secretary general, Maulana Masood Azhar. Upon his release, he launched JeM at a stadium in Bahawalpur in March 2000, after being designated a global terrorist by the US. JeM’s objectives include the withdrawal of Indian security forces from J&K and the liberation of Kashmir. It also seeks to take control of Amritsar, New Delhi, and the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya – where now a Ram temple stands. With funding from the ISI and foreign countries, JeM has been responsible for terror attacks in India, including the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack, and the 2019 Pulwama attack.

Active across J&K districts, JeM chief Masood Azhar was arrested after the 2001 Parliament attack but released on the orders of a three-member Review Board of the Lahore High Court in 2002. Since then, Pakistan has always denied knowledge of his whereabouts, but Azhar has remained in Bahawalpur, as indicated by a speech he gave in December 2024. On May 7, Indian strikes destroyed Markaz Subhanallah, which served as JeM’s headquarters in Bahawalpur, and killed several of Azhar’s family members who were part of JeM. This has dealt a major blow to JeM’s structure and functioning.

Judging by the effective and far-reaching consequences achieved by Indian agencies, terrorists in Pakistan are now demoralised — at least for the time being. Security experts feel India should continue to garner precise intelligence about their location and movements and hit them hard as and when a suitable opportunity arises, so as to preempt and foil the recurrence of any Pahalgam-type misadventure.

The writer is a retired IPS officer, Adviser NatStrat, and a former National Security Advisor in Mauritius. Views expressed are personal