India’s Counterterrorism Op Eliminates Key Figure in Murder of Daniel Pearl Hy’d

India’s Operation Sindoor counterterrorism campaign in Pakistan, launched in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, delivered Thursday a measure of long-awaited justice for American journalist Daniel Pearl Hy”d, whose brutal 2002 murder in Pakistan became a global symbol of the inhumanity of global Islamic terror.

Daniel, then South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, was abducted in Karachi while reporting on extremist networks. His captors demanded the release of Pakistani prisoners held by the U.S. and an end to American operations in Afghanistan. In a series of chilling images, Pearl was shown in chains, holding a newspaper with a gun to his head. Around February 1, 2002, he was R”l beheaded. A graphic video of the killing was sent to the U.S. Consulate in Karachi and circulated online, foreshadowing propaganda methods later used by al-Qaeda and ISIS. His remains were found in May 2002 in a shallow grave.

Daniel’s final words were “My name is Daniel Pearl. My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, and I am a Jew.”

Several men were implicated in his murder. British-born terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh was convicted in 2002 but saw his death sentence overturned in 2020, triggering international outrage. In 2007, 9/11 planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confessed under CIA custody to beheading Pearl, a claim later supported by an independent investigation, though legal challenges persist due to the nature of his interrogation.

One of the key suspects long accused by Indian authorities of involvement in Pearl’s kidnapping and murder was Abdul Rauf Azhar, a senior leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed and brother of its founder, Masood Azhar. Rauf was also central to the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814, which resulted in Omar Sheikh’s release.

During Operation Sindoor, India targeted multiple terror hubs, including a facility in Bahawalpur, JeM’s stronghold. Government sources confirm that Abdul Rauf Azhar was killed in a precision strike. Though the exact location remains undisclosed, officials cited strong intelligence linking him to both ongoing terror plots and historical atrocities like Pearl’s murder.

“India has delivered justice for the brutal murder of Daniel Pearl,” a government spokesperson said. “Abdul Rauf Azhar’s elimination sends a clear message: those who target innocents and spread terror will face the consequences.”

Pearl’s former colleague, journalist Asra Nomani, shared her thoughts. “My friend, WSJ reporter Danny Pearl, went to Bahawalpur in December 2001 with a notebook and a pen… Danny was no cowboy… Around that time, Danny sent me an email: ‘I’m anxious to go to Afghanistan, but I’m not anxious to die.’”