&w=3840&q=100)
How Pak terrorist Abdul Rauf Azhar's killing brings justice for slain US journalist Daniel Pearl
India's strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and PoK have reportedly killed Jaish-e Mohammad (JeM) terrorist Abdul Rauf Azhar, the younger brother of Masood Azhar. His death brings justice to the US journalist Daniel Pearl, who was abducted and killed in Pakistan in 2002. Here's how read more
Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is photographed in an image sent by his kidnappers. File Photo/Reuters
India has eliminated one of its most wanted terrorists with Operation Sindoor. The Indian armed forces' missile strikes on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) early Wednesday have reportedly killed Jaish-e Mohammad (JeM) terrorist Abdul Rauf Azhar.
India's precision strikes on terror camps included JeM headquarters in Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's (LeT) Markaz Taiba in Muridke. Operation Sindoor has neutralised several high-profile terrorist operatives responsible for spreading terror globally. Azhar is believed to be among those killed.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Let's take a closer look.
Who was Abdul Rauf Azhar?
Abdul Rauf Azhar, the younger brother of JeM founder Masood Azhar, was behind several terror attacks in India.
Born in 1974 in Pakistan, he plotted the hijacking of the Indian Airlines aircraft IC 814. On December 24, 1999, five masked terrorists hijacked the Delhi-bound plane. The aircraft was eventually flown to Kandahar in Afghanistan, which was ruled by the Taliban.
The hijacking resulted in the release of three dreaded terrorists jailed in India — Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, Mushtaq Zargar and Masood Azhar — in exchange for the nearly 150 passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines Flight.
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh was involved in the killing of the United States journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan. Masood Azhar went on to establish the Jaish-e-Mohammad group after his release.
As per a News18 report, Abdul Rauf Azhar was the operational head of JeM and the de facto chief when his brother Masood Azhar was not present. While staying in the shadows, the younger Azhar directed JeM's several heinous terror attacks against India.
Rauf Azhar's operatives were behind the 2001 Parliament attack that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of conflict.
In 2005, five terrorists attacked the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya and were shot dead by security personnel. As per News18, the terror attack fitted JeM's ideology and Azhar's playbook.
The JeM leader is also believed to have planned and supervised the infiltration of terrorists for the Pathankot attack. Jaish members had attacked the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Punjab's Pathankot, killing six security personnel, in 2016.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Azhar, also known as Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar, was declared a terrorist by the US in 2010 for 'recruiting operatives and planning attacks in India and Afghanistan."
However, India's move to have him blacklisted by the United Nations Security Council in 2022 was blocked by China.
Killing of Daniel Pearl
On January 23, 2002, Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter, was on his way for an interview in Pakistan's Karachi with a religious leader as part of his research into Islamist militants.
He was abducted near a hotel by terrorists who claimed to be from a group called the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty.
Four days later, the group sent an email with pictures of the 38-year-old journalist in chains. One of the pictures showed Pearl, who was Jewish, holding a newspaper and another with a gun to his head, as per a WSJ report.
Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was murdered in February 2002. File Photo/Reuters
The group demanded the release of all Pakistani terrorists held by the US. Despite public pleas from Pearl's family and others, they did not free the journalist.
On February 1, 2002, Pearl was murdered by the terrorists. Weeks later, a videotape showing Pearl's beheading was released, sending shockwaves across the world.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
The case drew global attention. Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a British-Pakistani terrorist, was found to be the mastermind of the kidnapping and killing of Pearl. He was convicted in 2002.
According to lawyers of Pearl's family, Sheikh helped in organising the kidnapping and detention of the journalist, before directing his captors to kill him, reported Al Jazeera.
In 2007, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed of the al-Qaeda terror group claimed responsibility for Pearl's murder.
Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered the release of Sheikh in 2021.
Operation Sindoor brings justice to Daniel Pearl
With the killing of Abdul Rauf Azhar, the Indian armed forces have avenged several terror attacks carried out on Indian soil involving the JeM leader. Azhar, whose hijacking of the IC 814 flight led to the release of the mastermind of Pearl's killing, has been brought to justice.
'Rauf Azhar's role in orchestrating the IC-814 hijacking directly facilitated the release of Omar Saeed Sheikh, a key Al-Qaeda operative who went on to kidnap and murder Daniel Pearl, an American-Jewish journalist with the Wall Street Journal. Pearl's brutal execution in 2002 shocked the conscience of the world and remains a defining example of the global threat posed by state-protected terror networks,' government sources said.
'By eliminating Rauf Azhar, India has not only delivered justice for countless Indian victims of terror, but also taken a step toward closure in the long, painful memory of Daniel Pearl's killing — a case that symbolised the dangers faced by journalists, the Jewish community, and the broader democratic world,' they added.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
With inputs from agencies
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
21 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Will Come Back To Haunt You': Jaishankar's Blunt Warning To West On Pak-Sponsored Terrorism
External affairs minister S Jaishankar, who is currently in Brussels to meet the European Union (EU) leaders, had pushed back against the international media's narrative that the India's action 'Operation Sindoor' against Pakistan following the terror in Kashmir was a tit-for-tat between two nuclear-armed neighbours and questioned the presence of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. In an interview with European news website Euractiv, Jaishankar recalled the October 1947 incident when 'Pakistan sent invaders' and claimed that the Western countries were very supportive of this.#jaishankar #operationsindoor #kashmirterror #osamabinladenpakistan #indiapakistanrelations #euindia #nuclearthreat #europe #terrorism #foreignpolicy #geopolitics #southasiasafety #counterterrorism #internationalrelations #indiadiplomacy #pakistanissue #globalsecurity #indiapakistan #news #toi #toibharat Read More
News18
26 minutes ago
- News18
'Need Ties With Both India & Pakistan': US Central Command Chief Gen Kurilla
Last Updated: General Michael Kurilla, who is set to retire this summer, commended Pakistan as an 'outstanding partner' in counterterrorism US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief General Michael Kurilla recently underscored the importance of the United States maintaining relationships with both India and Pakistan. Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, Kurilla emphasised Pakistan's critical role in counterterrorism efforts against the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-KP), as reported by the Hindustan Times. General Kurilla, who is set to retire this summer, commended Pakistan as an 'outstanding partner" in counterterrorism. This statement comes at a time when India has been increasing its diplomatic efforts to highlight Pakistan's involvement in cross-border terrorism, particularly after the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22. Indian officials, including external affairs minister S Jaishankar, have consistently cautioned against equating victims and perpetrators of terrorism. Kurilla clarified that the US relationship with India and Pakistan is not mutually exclusive. 'We need to have relationships with both Pakistan and India. It is not a binary choice where having one relationship excludes the other," he stated, encouraging lawmakers to recognise the benefits of each relationship. The CENTCOM chief detailed Pakistan's actions against IS-KP, a group based in Afghanistan that he characterised as highly active in planning global terrorist activities, including those targeting the US. He explained that while the Afghan Taliban has taken action against IS-KP, many fighters have relocated to the tribal areas along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. 'Through an excellent partnership with Pakistan, they have targeted and eliminated dozens of IS-KP members. With the intelligence we provide, they have captured at least five high-value IS-KP individuals," said Kurilla. He also highlighted Pakistan's extradition of Mohammad Sharifullah, alias Jafar, who was involved in the August 2021 Kabul airport attack that killed 13 American soldiers. Kurilla revealed that Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, Asim Munir, personally informed him of Jafar's capture and the willingness to extradite him. General Kurilla stressed that Pakistan's partnership in countering terrorist threats in Central and South Asia 'will only become more significant as the Taliban continues to face security challenges within Afghanistan". First Published:
Economic Times
27 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Modi 3.0 has got inflation & growth right but jobs, land reforms are still a challenge
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi enters in his 12th year leading the government, India's economy stands on solid macroeconomic foundations, but economists warn that generating jobs and reviving private investment will be key challenges in the years ahead, TOI has reported. With GDP growth averaging 6.2 per cent over the past 11 years (2014-15 to 2024-25), and inflation largely within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) comfort zone, the government has pointed to a decade of fiscal prudence and economic stability. If the distortions of the COVID-19 pandemic years (2020-21 contraction and 2021-22 rebound) are excluded, the average growth rate stands at a healthier 7.1 per cent. Even though, the World Bank has brought down India's growth projection at a steady 6.3 per cent, New Delhi continues to be the fastest growing economy in the world, ready to get past the growing global uncertainties. Also Read: Why is India outpacing China, US, EU and Germany? 'The economy delivered an average growth of 6.2% and an inflation rate of 5% over the last 11 years, despite the pandemic,' TOI quoted Crisil chief economist DK Joshi as saying. 'The economy is currently in a healthy shape with inflation under control, corporates and banks having healthy balance sheets, a low current account deficit, and ample forex reserves. Rains and crude oil prices, which are luck factors, are expected to be favorable this year. We expect India's GDP to grow at 6.5% in fiscal 2026, with risks tilted to the downside due to weak global prospects amid heightened uncertainty.' Inflation during the Modi years averaged 5 per cent, compared with 8.1 per cent under the previous UPA government. While part of this can be attributed to better food price management and more responsive supply chains, economists also credit global factors, particularly lower crude oil June 10, 2014, when Modi took office, the Indian crude oil basket cost $107 per barrel (Rs 6,331 per barrel at Rs 59.26/$). Eleven years later, it stood at $67.38 per barrel or Rs 5,711 at Rs 85.60/$, a drop of nearly 11% in rupee Sanyal, chief economist and head of research at Bandhan Bank, highlighted the Centre's cautious approach to spending. 'India demonstrated exemplary commitment to fiscal prudence and discipline over the last one decade despite the unprecedented Covid shock. Accordingly, India's public debt profile turns out to be a strong advantage today, much in contrast to the current global trend. Lower public debt, along with better anchored inflation and current account deficit, political stability and strong domestic demand amidst the current uncertain global economic environment, has enormously enhanced India's attractiveness as a preferred investor destination over the past decade.'Despite the macroeconomic optimism, the biggest concern going forward is the lack of private sector investment and sluggish job creation. Corporates are yet to expand capacity in a meaningful way, a move seen as essential to creating new jobs, particularly in the organised say the government must revive key reforms to unlock private capital. Land acquisition laws and labour flexibility have long been seen as barriers to business investment. Early efforts in 2014 to ease land acquisition rules met with political backlash and were shelved. On labour, the government passed four major codes, but has yet to notify them, citing delays from opposition-led and the rapid rise of AI have further complicated job creation, especially in sectors where automation is replacing entry-level the BJP reliant on coalition partners after the recent election, bold reforms like strategic disinvestment and asset monetisation, key tools for funding capital expenditure, have been pushed to the back burner. However, a surge in political confidence post-election may now allow the government to revisit these decisions. India has been negotiating several free trade agreements, which are expected to bring down tariffs. Experts warn that unless land and labour reforms are addressed in parallel, Indian industry may struggle to compete under these FTAs. (With inputs from TOI)
