Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Azhar Masood has confirmed that ten of his kin were among the dead in the Indian army's missile attacks, code-named 'Operation Sindoor,' in the early hours of Wednesday.
In a statement sent in Urdu to media houses, Masood listed the victims, stating, "Ten of my relatives including five children, my elder sister and her husband, my Islamic scholar nephew, his wife and my niece apart from that, my old friend Hazifa, his mother and two other colleagues were killed."
He also accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of deliberately targeting civilians, children, religious women, and the elderly.
"I am speechless with sorrow, but I am not regretful, nor fearful. I have been asking Allah to make me one of these 14 guests of Allah who become martyrs today," Masood added.
He also warned in return, "The slaughter of children and innocent people hasn't made us weak. They (Indians) shouldn't expect any leniency from us now." He also issued a threatening warning, "The collapsed minaret of Subhanullah mosque will finally fall upon the Indian people in a way that their coming generations won't be able to forget."
Masood confirmed that funeral prayers for the 14 Pakistanis martyred in the Indian airstrikes would be held at 4 PM.
Pointing to the fact that Indian troops struck terror-related installations in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) with accuracy around 1:44 AM on Wednesday, Pakistan military sources stated they steered clear of official military establishments within Pakistan's defined area.
Nine prime targets were pinpointed in 'Operation Sindoor,' according to a statement issued by India's Ministry of Defence. They include Muridke, Bhawalpur, Kotli, and Muzaffarabad in PoK—areas believed to have large terror training camps.
The Pakistan Army, in response, was said to have crossed the ceasefire on the LoC and engaged in heavy mortar firing at multiple points.
This shelling killed seven civilians and injured at least 38 people in the Poonch district.
Mortar shelling spread to Uri and Karnah in Kashmir, as well as in Poonch and Rajouri in the Jammu division, as the cross-border tensions heightened.
Responding to the situation, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha ordered an immediate review of the LoC incidents and instructed officials to shift the population from danger-prone areas to safe areas.
Simultaneously, as a precautionary measure, Srinagar airport operations have been taken over by the Indian Air Force, grounding all civil air traffic up to May 10.
Read also| Operation Sindoor Echoed Lord Hanuman’s Ideals, Aimed at Enemies: Rajnath Singh
