From Gaza to Bahawalpur: How Pakistan is following terror playbook of Hamas and Hezbollah

Time of India

15-05-2025

Image credit: AP
India's
Operation Sindoor
on May 7, 2025, launched a precise and targeted strike on nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK). The mission came in direct response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack, where 26 people, including tourists and a Navy officer, were killed by terrorists linked to
Lashkar-e-Taiba
's offshoot, The Resistance Front (TRF).
The Indian military targeted entrenched camps of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT),
Jaish-e-Mohammed
(JeM), and Hizbul Mujahideen using precision-guided munitions, SCALP missiles, and loitering drones. Over 100 terrorists were eliminated, including high-value operatives like Yusuf Azhar and Mudassar Khadian. Notably, India avoided Pakistani military sites, signaling surgical intent and restraint.
Why it matters
Operation Sindoor marks a significant evolution in India's counterterror doctrine, with New Delhi asserting it will now meet terrorism with calibrated military force. Just as Israel targets
Hamas
infrastructure in Gaza and Hezbollah networks in Lebanon, India has begun dismantling the Pakistani deep state's proxy militias.
Using civilians as human shields: A terror strategy lifted from Gaza and Lebanon
During Operation Sindoor, Pakistan employed a particularly egregious tactic: Using civilian aircraft as shields to constrain India's air defense responses. On May 8–9, Pakistan launched about 300–400 Turkish drones targeting many Indian sites, including civilian areas, while keeping air corridors open. During a government briefing, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi revealed that Pakistan used civilian airliners from Lahore to mask drone activities, compelling India's air defenses to act cautiously to ensure civilian safety.
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FlightRadar24 data too confirmed commercial planes in Pakistani airspace near the border, with no official suspension of flights at airports like Lahore, despite delays and cancellations.
This method is eerily similar to Hamas's tactics in Gaza, where command centers have been found beneath Al-Shifa Hospital, and to Hezbollah's use of residential neighborhoods for missile storage in southern Lebanon. These tactics deliberately blur the line between combatants and civilians-intending to provoke retaliatory fire that can be spun as 'civilian casualties.'
But Pakistan's use of international air routes escalated the risk, potentially involving foreign nationals.
State-backed proxy warfare
Just as Iran supports Hamas and Hezbollah for its regional ambitions, Pakistan uses LeT, JeM, and Hizbul Mujahideen as proxies to wage asymmetrical warfare against India. Operation Sindoor hit key nerve centers-like JeM's Markaz Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur and LeT's Markaz Taiba in Muridke-used for training, indoctrination, and operational planning.
According to government sources, JeM commander Abdul Rauf Asghar-a close associate of Masood Azhar-oversaw operations from Bahawalpur. In a chilling detail, Masood Azhar later admitted that 10 of his family members were killed in the strikes-underscoring how deeply the terror and familial networks intertwine.
Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin didn't mince words: 'The fact that Pakistani officers in uniform attended the funeral of terrorists shows there is no differentiation between a terrorist and a member of the ISI or Pakistani armed forces.'
Zoom in
Jonathan Spyer of the Middle East Forum told ANI: 'These organizations have a similar ideology and practice… It's quite feasible that ISI is reaching out to Hamas, and it's worthy of further investigation.'
Evidence points to cooperation between JeM and Hamas in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. According to reports, Hamas officials addressed a 'Kashmir Solidarity Day' rally in Rawalakot this year alongside LeT and JeM cadres.
JeM's Narowal center is known to host Hamas-style training in paragliding and tunneling.
Officials also revealed that JeM's Bahawalpur HQ stored Nato-grade arms smuggled from Afghanistan, including M4 rifles, sniper gear, and night vision devices. These assets are not typically available to non-state actors-indicating support networks stretching across regions and regimes.
Propaganda, denial, and international spin
After Operation Sindoor, Pakistan's information warfare machinery swung into action.
ISPR director general Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry attempted to downplay the deaths, presenting senior LeT operatives like Hafiz Abdul Rauf as 'civilians.' But the attempt backfired when publicly available US sanctions data matched the ISPR's own description.
Pakistan also claimed that India struck the Neelum Jhelum hydroelectric dam-a claim Indian officials called 'absolute fabrication.' This type of denial and inversion of facts mimics Hamas and Hezbollah propaganda playbooks, where every strike is framed as an attack on civilians rather than military or terror targets.
Between the lines
India's response wasn't just tactical-it was symbolic. It showcased a new security doctrine that resembles Israel's posture toward asymmetric threats: hit first, hit smart, and stay within legal and strategic boundaries.
Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin said bluntly: 'Pakistan went running to try to achieve a ceasefire like a scared dog with its tail between its legs.' He added: 'There is absolutely no spin that the Pakistani military can put on what occurred... they lost very, very badly.'