'JeM responsible but real connection through...': MEA's big reveal on American journo Daniel Pearl's killing

India's Operation Sindoor, which reduced 9 terrorist camps located across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to rubble, not only spelt justice for the 26 innocent people who lost their lives in the dastardly Pahalgam terrorist attack but also for the slain American-Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl associated with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and his family. 

Now, why does India's action under the codename Operation Sindoor spell justice for the slain WSJ journalist and his family? India inflicted the maximum damage on Bahawalpur, which is the operational nerve centre of the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed and also houses its chief, Maulana Masood Azhar.

After Bahawalpur, the Indian armed forces inflicted the most damages on Muridke, the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). JeM and LeT were linked to Pearl's murder, which sent shockwaves across the world due to the sheer brutality. 

Vikram Misri's big reveal on Jaish's involvement

During a press conference on Friday, India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri mentioned the slain journalist at a presser about India's offensive against Pakistan. Misri said that the proscribed terror outfit was directly or indirectly responsible for Pearl's death, but had a bigger reveal to make. 

"The Jaish-e-Mohammed was in some way directly or indirectly responsible for the death of Daniel Pearl, but the real connection is through Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the British Pakistani Jihadi who was held in India but was released in 2000 and he was the person who lured Daniel Pearl, eventually leading to his murder," Misri said. 

In this context, he also called India's strike on Jaish's facility in Bahawalpur "a fitting part of this unfortunate incident."

Masood Azhar's brother eliminated, Daniel Pearl's father says 'thank you, India'

Moreover, the ruling BJP said yesterday that Masood Azhar's brother Abdul Rauf Azhar was killed in the Operation Sindoor as India hit terror camps. "Most wanted Pakistani terrorist, Abdul Rauf Azhar killed," the BJP said in a post on X. 

After the news of Abdul Rauf Azhar's spread like wildfire, Daniel Pearl's father said in a long post: "I want to thank all of you who reached out to me today in response to the news that India's military forces have eliminated Abdul Rauf Azhar - a man described as responsible for the kidnapping and murder of my son, Daniel." 

He further said in his post that Azhar orchestrated the hijacking of the IC-814 flight, following which Omar Shaikh was released. Shaikh was the man who lured Pearl into captivity, he added. 

About the Daniel Pearl case

In 2002, Pearl was kidnapped by Muslim terrorists in Karachi when he was working on a story about Pakistani terrorists. Later, a videotape of his killing was sent to the US officials in February.

His kidnappers, who called themselves the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty, claimed that Pearl was an Israeli spy. In addition to this, they also sent the US a list of demands if they wanted Daniel Pearl to be freed. 

He mentioned in the video that he visited Israel multiple times. 

"My father's Jewish, my mother's Jewish, I'm Jewish. My family follows Judaism. Back in the town of Bnei Brak, there is a street named after my great grandfather, who was one of the founders of the town," he said in the video before he was executed.

Abdul Rauf Azhar was a co-conspirator in the kidnapping and murder of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter.