Thursday, May 8, 2025

Operation SIndoor brings justice to the family of US journalist Daniel Pearl

Daniel Pearl

India's targeted military strike, "Operation Sindoor," was launched in response to the brutal Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians were murdered Islamic terrorists. The operation achieved an unexpected but significant outcome: delivering long-overdue justice to the family of American journalist Daniel Pearl, who was brutally murdered in Pakistan in 2002. 

On May 7, one of the nine terrorist targets destroyed was a facility in Bahawalpur, a known stronghold of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a terrorist group led by Masood Azhar. JeM is responsible for multiple attacks in India, including the 2001 Parliament attack and the 2019 Pulwama bombing.

Daniel Pearl, the South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal and a Jew, was kidnapped in Karachi while investigating links between Pakistan’s intelligence agencies and terrorists. A month later, a horrifying video showed his beheading. Despite worldwide outrage, those responsible faced no consequences, protected by terrorist groups and their supporters in Pakistan.

Reports, including from the Bharatiya Janata Party, claimed that Abdul Rauf Azhar, Masood Azhar’s brother, was killed in the strike. Abdul Rauf’s involvement in the IC-814 hijacking led to the release of Omar Saeed Sheikh, who later kidnapped and murdered Pearl.

Pearl’s colleague, Indian-American journalist Asra Nomani, highlighted the connection between Bahawalpur and Pearl’s death. She wrote on X: "My friend, WSJ reporter Danny Pearl, went to Bahawalpur in December 2001 with a notebook and a pen. Gen. Pervez Musharraf had just promised he was shutting down Pakistan’s militant groups after a strike by Pakistan’s terrorists against the Parliament in India, and Danny reported on the militant offices in Bahawalpur. He literally knocked on their doors.

Dear Dr.@yudapearl, this story is a window into Danny’s reporting enterprise. And because people will wonder: Danny was no cowboy. This was a calculated low-risk reporting trip because no journalist had been targeted for kidnapping in Pakistan. Around that time, Danny sent me an email: ‘I’m anxious to go to Afghanistan, but I’m not anxious to die.’"

If you enjoy my blog, feel free to toss a virtual coffee my way on Buy Me a Coffee – it’s like a high-five with caffeine, and coffee keeps me focused. No pressure, it's your call. 

Named after the vermilion worn by married Indian women, Operation Sindoor carries deep symbolic meaning, reflecting the lives lost in the April 22 Pahalgam attack. By targeting those who supported terrorists responsible for attacks not only in India but worldwide, the operation may have finally brought closure to a tragic chapter that began with Pearl’s death over twenty years ago.

No comments:

Post a Comment

MS Synagogue Arson Suspect Laughed While Confessing

The suspect in the arson attack on Mississippi's oldest synagogue, Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, has confessed to setting the fir...