Op Sindoor: Why Indian strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed's HQ in Bahawalpur stand out among 9 targets

New Delhi: Targeting the sprawling headquarters of Masood Azhar-led proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan's Bahawalpur stands out among the nine locations targeted by the Indian military on Wednesday in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.

Located around 100 km from the International Border, Bahawalpur was the farthest among the nine locations on target as well as it was for the first time that India hit the Pakistani side of Punjab since the 1971 war. It was one of the four locations that India targeted inside Pakistan as part of 'Operation Sindoor' in which five locations in PoK were also attacked.

The city, which was built in 1748 and operated as a trading post in those times, had become the hub of JeM after Azhar was released from Indian jails in exchange for hijacked passengers of IC-814 in 1999. PTI quoted a purported statement by Azhar saying that 10 of his family members were killed in the Indian attack.

The JeM, established in 2000, has been involved in terror attacks in India, including the 2001 Parliament attack, 2001 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly attack, 2016 Pathankot IAF base attack and 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing. Azhar has received support from the ISI, Taliban, Osama Bin Laden, and others for setting up the JeM.

At Bahawalpur, the 12th largest city in Pakistan, the JeM has set up its headquarters at the Markaz Subhan Allah complex spread over 15 acres, also known as Usman-o-Ali campus, where it trains and indoctrinates its recruits. Sources said attackers of Pulwama strike were trained at the JeM headquarters.

The complex, which is on NH-5 (Karachi-Torkham Highway),  has a grand mosque, which Indian officials say is more than a religious place and functions as the nerve centre of the terror outfit. It also has a religious school that can house around 600 people, a gymnasium, a swimming pool where rigorous training in deep-water diving besides space for archery training. It also houses residences of Azhar, de-facto chief Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar and their family, sources said.

However, Indian agencies believe Azhar is in the protective custody of Pakistan authorities and Asghar leads the operations. Sources said Azhar addressed JeM cadre in the Markaz on 30 November, 2024 after a gap of two years. 

It is also strategically important as it is the base of Pakistan’s 31 Corps. The attack on Bahawalpur is seen as significant as India never hit locations in Pakistan's Punjab during earlier crises.