Pakistan may pay Masood Azhar ₹14cr for 'Operation Sindoor' casualties
What's the story
The Pakistani government is reportedly mulling a compensation package of ₹14 crore for Jaish-e-Muhammad (JEM)'s chief Masood Azhar.
The move comes in the aftermath of an Indian military operation, dubbed Operation Sindoor, which killed 14 members of Azhar's family.
The Tribune, citing a press release from the Pakistan PMO, said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved compensation of ₹1 crore per dead person, which would be divided among their legal heirs.
Casualties
Azhar's family members among operation victims
The casualties from Operation Sindoor included Azhar's elder sister and her husband, a nephew and his wife, a niece, along with five children from his extended family.
If Azhar is identified as the sole legal heir to these deceased individuals, he could potentially be entitled to the full compensation amount of ₹14 crore.
The Indian military had described this operation as a precision strike targeting terror infrastructure, asserting that no civilian areas were harmed during the operation.
Reconstruction
Compensation plan includes rebuilding houses
The proposed compensation scheme also promises reconstruction of houses destroyed in the airstrikes.
This part of the plan has been criticized by Indian defense officials, who questioned if the rebuilt structures would be used for terrorist activities again.
One of the primary targets in Bahawalpur, about 400km from Lahore, was the JeM headquarters at Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah (aka Usman-o-Ali campus).
Diplomatic tensions
Modi warns Pakistan to watch its actions closely
Following the success of the operation, Indian PM Narendra Modi has warned that India would keep a close watch on Pakistan's actions in the upcoming days.
He warned that if another terror attack occurs, India will respond strongly by entering the homes of terrorists and won't even give them a chance to escape.
"There is no such place in Pakistan where terrorists can sit and breathe in peace," he said at the Adampur air base in Punjab.