After Op Sindoor, Masood Azhar may get Rs 14 crore compensation from Pak

India’s airstrikes on May 7 under Operation Sindoor have destroyed key terror infrastructure in Pakistan, but may just lead to a windfall for UN-designated terrorist and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar. This is because Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office has announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore (approximately 30 lakh in INR) per casualty.

Fourteen of Azhar’s family members, including his elder sister, her husband, a nephew, his wife, a niece and several children, were killed in the Indian strikes on terror camps in Bahawalpur, a known JeM stronghold in Pakistan’s Punjab province, according to reports by Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).

This means that Azhar — if he is the sole legal heir — could receive Rs 14 crore (approximately 4.2 lakh INR).

The Indian Armed Forces struck targeted terror camps used by JeM, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen, including the Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah, also known as the Usman-o-Ali campus, which Indian officials identify as JeM’s headquarters.

India has maintained that the high-precision strikes were aimed solely at terrorists and terrorist infrastructure. Meanwhile, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif has unveiled a wide-ranging compensation plan for those killed in the strikes. This includes rebuilding homes, mosques, and reportedly, the headquarters of Lashkar and Jaish, which were damaged in the Indian strikes.

The compensation package, rolled out as part of what Islamabad calls the ‘Marka-i-Haq’ campaign, offers Rs1 crore per civilian killed, Rs10–20 lakh for injured civilians, Rs1–1.8 crore for killed military personnel, based on rank, Rs1.9–4.2 crore (Rs 19–42 million) in housing support. The compensation also includes continued salary and allowances for families of deceased soldiers till retirement, free education for children of soldiers up to graduation, Rs10 lakh marriage grant for one daughter, and Rs20–50 lakh for injured military personnel.

“It is the responsibility of the government to take care of the children of martyrs, and we will fulfil this obligation,” PM Sharif was quoted as saying by the Dawn. He also announced awards and national recognition for those who “contributed to the defence and honour of Pakistan.”

India has raised the issue of Pakistan’s support to terrorism on multiple occasions, while Pakistan has denied the charges. Following the Pahalgam terror attack, India has adopted an aggressive approach to cross-border terrorism. PM Narendra Modi said that Operation Sindoor, under which terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir were targeted, is the new normal for India.

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