Abdul Rauf Azhar, a globally designated terrorist who beheaded US Journalist Daniel Pearl was killed in Indian Armed Forces missile strikes on terror launch pads in Pakistan's Punjab and PoK under 'Operation Sindoor' on Wednesday as per reports. The operation hence has delivered justice also to Pearl’s family after 23 long years. Pearl was working with The Wall Street Journal when he was kidnapped and killed in Pakistan in 2002. Azhar was the supreme commander of Jaish-e-Mohammad, the terror outfit founded by his brother and another water terrorist Masood Azhar. He was among the most wanted terrorists by India for his roles in terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir. Abdul Rauf Azhar was a Pakistani Deobandi jihadist cleric and militant who served as the supreme commander of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). He assumed leadership of the group on 21 April 2007 and was one of India's most wanted individuals due to his long history of orchestrating attacks against the country.
At just 24 years old, Rauf Azhar masterminded the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in 1999, an operation that ultimately led to the release of his elder brother, JeM founder Maulana Masood Azhar. Since then, he has been behind every major attack carried out by the group in India, including the 2001 fidayeen attacks on the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and the Indian Parliament, the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack, as well as assaults on army camps in Nagrota and Kathua. He was also linked to the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF personnel. Indian intelligence agencies and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) report that Azhar used to take nearly all operational decisions for JeM, especially in the absence of his ailing brother.
During a period when JeM went underground following attempts on then Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf's life, Rauf Azhar played a central role in rebuilding the group by travelling to Afghanistan and coordinating with the Taliban. India’s actions are targeted, precise, and focused entirely on dismantling terror — not aimed at any nation or people, but at the individuals and organisations who perpetrate crimes against humanity, the Indian government has already pointed out.The US has backed India’s right to self-defence in respect of Operation Sindoor. The UK Foreign Minister said India is right to feel outrage at this terrible attack on 22 April. He called upon Pakistan to do more to tackle the terror threat within its own borders.