JeM chief Masood Azhar's family was wiped out in Operation Sindoor, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (Sep 17) invoked the viral video of a Jaish commander admitting that Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar's family was wiped out in India's Operation Sindoor, and declared that it was proof that "new India...does not fear anyone's nuclear threats".

PM Modi lauds Operation Sindoor

Speaking at a massive rally in Dhar on his 75th birthday, Modi said the confession showed that India's response to terrorism had changed. "New India that strikes terrorists inside their own homes," he said.

"Pakistani terrorists had wiped the sindoor of our sisters and daughters. We carried out Operation Sindoor and destroyed the terror camps. Our brave armed forces brought Pakistan to its knees within the blink of an eye," the Prime Minister told the crowd.

"Just yesterday, the nation and the world witnessed another Pakistani terrorist tearfully narrating his ordeal. This is a new India. It does not fear anyone's nuclear threats. This is a new India that strikes terrorists inside their own homes," he added, drawing loud applause.

JeM commander accepts India wiped out Jaish chief Masood Azhar's family

PM Modi's remarks came after a video surfaced of JeM commander Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, flanked by Pakistani security personnel, admitting that Azhar's family had been "torn into pieces" in the May 7 airstrike on the group's Bahawalpur headquarters, Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah. The operation was launched after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 25 tourists.

Kashmiri's confession also linked Jaish to the Delhi and Mumbai terror attacks and revealed that Pakistan's Balakot region had long served as the base for Masood Azhar's operations.

Operation Sindoor, India's most daring cross-border strike to date, targeted nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including Bahawalpur, which was reduced to rubble. At the time, Pakistan's military public relations wing, ISPR, claimed civilians were killed. The new admission, months later, directly contradicts that account.

"...we fought Delhi, Kabul and Kandahar for protecting the borders of this country. After sacrificing everything, on May 7, Maulana Masood Azhar's family was destroyed in Bahawalpur," Kashmiri said in the video, acknowledging JeM's heavy losses.