India Kills LeT Commander in Deep Strikes on Pakistan

More than 100 hardcore terrorists belonging to Pakistan-based terror outfits, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), are reported to have perished in Indian military strikes on 7 May.

Mudassar Khadian Khas, alias Abu Jundal, one of the infamous LeT commanders, turned out to be a high-value casualty for the Indian military as it carried out precision strikes at five locations in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and four inside Pakistan, in response to the savage terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

Top defence sources have confirmed his death.

Notably, Muridke and Bahawalpur were among the most prominent targets of the armed forces in their counter-terrorism operation. Muridke is the Lashkar headquarters, while Bahawalpur serves as the JeM nodal centre in Pakistan.

Abu Jundal was in charge of the Markaz Taiba in Muridke, Punjab province. This centre functioned as a recruitment hub for new terror operatives and also served as an indoctrination facility. It was previously financed by Al-Qaeda’s Osama Bin Laden and acted as a breeding ground for radicalising students and motivating them to join jihad.

It was at this facility that the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, including Ajmal Kasab, were given intelligence training. Other conspirators such as David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana also maintained links with Muridke.

India made the Muridke camp one of its primary targets and decimated the base with targeted strikes on 7 May, resulting in the death of Abu Jundal and several of his close associates.

The LeT HQ chief also drew the wrath of the international community, even after his death. His ‘state funeral’ in Muridke, attended by top Pakistani military officers, sparked global anger and condemnation.

The Pakistani Army accorded the dreaded terrorist a guard of honour, and wreaths were laid on behalf of the Pakistan Army Chief and the Punjab Chief Minister, Maryam Nawaz, according to reports.

His funeral prayer was led by Hafiz Abdul Rauf of JuD (a designated global terrorist) in a government school, which sent shockwaves internationally, with many governments calling out Pakistan’s blatant patronage of terror elements on its soil.

Abdur Rauf was seen in videos on Wednesday flanked by military officers. As these images circulated on social media, many voices called for global exposure of Pakistan’s duplicity.

Of the nine terror camps targeted, Muridke and Bahawalpur have long remained on the radar of Indian intelligence and security agencies. However, this marked the first time the Centre directly targeted these key terror hubs.

The direct strikes on LeT and JeM headquarters are not merely hits on terror infrastructure in a neighbouring nation but carry symbolic significance for India’s war on terror. It sends a strong message to the world that India will hold terrorists and their masters accountable—without restraint.

— IANS