Daniel Pearl’s father blasts Pakistan Army for attending funeral of terrorists linked to son’s murder
The Indian Armed Forces carried out a precision military operation on Tuesday targeting nine terrorist installations across Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The strikes included hits on the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Bahawalpur and a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) base in Muridke, Pakistan.
Pakistan’s senior military and civil officials, along with residents, attend a funeral in Muridke, about 30 kms from Lahore, on May 7, 2025. (AFP)
Following the strikes, a photo surfaced on social media showing uniformed Pakistan Army personnel attending the funeral of three terrorists killed in the strikes. Standing alongside them was Hafiz Abdul Rauf, a US-designated global terrorist.
The photo drew criticism from Judea Pearl, father of slain American journalist Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in 2002.
Pearl expressed his outrage on X, writing, “I wish these dignitaries could tell us: What exactly are you mourning? What role models you wish your children to revere? What have you learned from this man?”
Death of Abdul Rauf Azhar
Abdul Rauf Azhar, the brother of JeM chief Masood Azhar, was reportedly among those killed in the missile strike on Bahawalpur. He died along with nine members of his family.
Rauf Azhar’s death has rekindled international focus on the Daniel Pearl case. Pearl, a journalist with The Wall Street Journal, was kidnapped and later beheaded in Karachi in 2002 by al-Qaeda operative Omar Saeed Sheikh.
Judea Pearl reacted to Rauf Azhar’s killing, writing on X, “Azhar was a Pakistani extremist and leader of the terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammed. While his group was not directly involved in the plot to abduct Danny, it was indirectly responsible. Azhar orchestrated the hijacking that led to the release of Omar Sheikh—the man who lured Danny into captivity. Sheikh was later sentenced to death but ultimately released from prison and kept in a ‘Government Safe House.’”
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Official Response
At a press briefing, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri addressed the strikes and their connection to the Pearl case.
“Bahawalpur is the headquarters of the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist group that is proscribed by the UN. Its leader Masood Azhar is a proscribed individual,” Misri said. “The JeM was in some way directly or indirectly responsible for the death of Daniel Pearl.”
