Operation Sindoor, India’s recent counter-terror offensive targeting nine high-value terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), has also delivered long-awaited justice to the family and friends of American-Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl.
According to reports, Abdul Rauf Azhar — an Islamist terrorist, co-conspirator in the 2002 abduction and beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, and mastermind of the IC-814 hijacking — was among dozens of terrorists eliminated in the operation. India destroyed the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror headquarters and training camp, ‘Markaz Subhan Allah’, in Pakistan’s Bahawalpur during the offensive on Wednesday.
The American-Jewish community, human rights activists, and international voices from across the world have taken to social media to thank India for eliminating Azhar, the brother of UN-designated terrorist and JeM chief Masood Azhar.
“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,” American activist Amy Mek posted on X.
“Abdul Rauf Azhar wasn’t just a terrorist; he was the brother of Masood Azhar, JeM’s founder, and a mastermind behind some of the most heinous Islamic attacks,” she added. “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—for standing strong against Islamic terror and taking the fight directly to the jihadis.”
Former US Special Envoy Ellie Cohanim also expressed her gratitude:
“For too long, we did not see justice for the evil beheading of Daniel Pearl. Personally grateful to the government of India. Daniel Pearl is forever memorialized by his last words echoing thousands of years of Jewish history and persecution: ‘My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish.’”
Prominent voices including American author Pamela Geller, international human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky, and Israeli journalist Emily Schrader also thanked India for the strike.
“India kills Muslim terrorist who beheaded Jewish-American Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. THANK YOU, INDIA!” Geller wrote.
“Thank you to our Indian friends for eliminating one of the key terrorists behind the 2002 execution of Danny Pearl. The Jewish and Indian people are two very proud nations, both fighting against the forces of Islamic terror,” Ostrovsky wrote on X.
“Justice. Thank you India, for eliminating the monsters who beheaded Daniel Pearl,” Schrader posted.
The Bahawalpur site, long believed to be a major base for JeM’s terrorist operations, was reduced to rubble in the strike. JeM chief Masood Azhar, one of India’s most wanted terrorists, is accused of orchestrating multiple deadly attacks, including the 2019 Pulwama bombing that killed 40 CRPF personnel.
