Following India’s precision strikes under Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, which eliminated over 100 terrorists, videos and images surfaced on social media exposing Pakistani Army officials and personnel attending the funerals of slain terrorists across the border areas. The Indian Armed Forces, on Sunday (May 11), released the names of high-ranking Pakistani military and police officials who participated in these ceremonies, raising serious questions about Pakistan’s claims of not sponsoring terrorism. The presence of uniformed personnel and state honours at these funerals has drawn sharp condemnation from India, with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri accusing Pakistan of glorifying terrorists.
Pakistani Officials at Terrorists’ Funerals
The Indian Armed Forces publicly identified several senior Pakistani officials who attended the funeral prayers for terrorists killed in the strikes, directly challenging Pakistan’s narrative of non-involvement with terrorism. The officials named include:
1. Lieutenant General Fayyaz Hussain Shah, Commander of the IV Corps, Lahore
2. Major General Rao Imran Sartaj, 11th Infantry Division, Lahore
3. Brigadier Mohammad Furqan Shabbir
4. Dr. Usman Anwar, Inspector General of Punjab Police
5. Malik Sohaib Ahmed Bherth, Member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab
These individuals were seen offering prayers at the funeral of terrorists in Muridke, approximately 40 km from Lahore, a key target of India’s strikes. Videos circulating online showed Pakistan Army personnel carrying coffins draped in the Pakistani national flag, a gesture typically reserved for state honours.
One particularly damning video captured the funeral prayers led by Hafiz Abdul Rauf, a US-designated global terrorist and senior commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), for three terrorists—Qari Abdul Malik, Khalid, and Mudassir—killed in a strike on a terror camp in Muridke.
The three men were reportedly members of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), a front organisation founded by LeT chief Hafiz Saeed, and worked as prayer leaders and caretakers at a mosque destroyed in the Indian strike. Rauf, who also chairs Al Khidmat, another LeT-affiliated group, led the prayers under tight security, with civil officials and JuD members in attendance.
Those killed include, Mudassar Khadian Khas, alias Abu Jundal, an LeT operative in charge of Markaz Taiba in Muridke, received a guard of honor from the Pakistan Army at his funeral, with wreaths laid on behalf of the Pak Army Chief and Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz; his funeral prayer, held in a government school and led by JuD’s Hafiz Abdul Rauf, was attended by a serving Pakistani Lt. General and the Punjab Police IG. Hafiz Muhammed Jameel, JeM’s head of Markaz Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur and eldest brother-in-law of Maulana Masood Azhar, was involved in youth radicalisation and fundraising.
Mohammad Yusuf Azhar, alias Ustad Ji, another Azhar brother-in-law, managed JeM’s weapons training, orchestrated attacks in Jammu & Kashmir, and was wanted for the IC-814 hijacking. Khalid, alias Abu Akasha of LeT, linked to attacks in Jammu & Kashmir and weapons smuggling from Afghanistan. Lastly, Mohammad Hassan Khan, son of JeM’s PoK commander Mufti Asghar Khan Kashmiri, coordinated terrorist attacks in Jammu & Kashmir.
The US Treasury designated Rauf as a global terrorist in 2010 for his role in LeT’s financial and logistical networks, including facilitating operations linked to the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.
India’s Condemnation of “State Funerals” for Terrorists
On May 8, 2025, India issued a scathing condemnation of Pakistan’s actions, accusing Islamabad of holding “state funerals” for terrorists. During a press briefing, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held up a photograph showing uniformed Pakistani Army and police personnel praying behind the coffins of the slain terrorists. “If only civilians were killed in these attacks, I wonder what message this picture actually sends to all of you. This is a question worth asking,” Misri said, debunking Pakistan’s claims that the strikes targeted civilians.
Misri further criticised the practice of draping terrorists’ coffins in Pakistani flags and according them state honors, suggesting it may be a routine practice in Pakistan.
“It’s also odd that the funerals of civilians are carried out with coffins being draped in Pakistani flags and state honours being accorded,” he remarked, highlighting Pakistan’s “reputation as the epicentre of global terrorism.”
Misri’s statements were echoed by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami, who, during an interview on Sky News, presented the same photograph to confront Pakistan’s state support for terrorism.
Operation Sindoor: A Response to the Pahalgam Attack
The funerals followed India’s Operation Sindoor, a meticulously planned operation launched in retaliation for the April 22, 2025, terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians, mostly tourists. The 25-minute operation, executed between 1:05 AM and 1:30 AM on May 7, targeted nine terrorist infrastructure sites across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu-Kashmir (PoJK). The sites, carefully selected to avoid civilian casualties, included:
1. Sawai Nalla (LeT training camp, Muzaffarabad, PoK)
2. Sarjal (PoK)
3. Muridke (LeT headquarters, Punjab, Pakistan)
4. Kotli (PoK)
5. Kotli Gulpur (PoK)
6. Mehmoona Joya (Hizbul Mujahideen facility, Sialkot, Pakistan)
7. Bhimber (PoK)
8. Bahawalpur (Jaish-e-Mohammed stronghold, Pakistan)
9. Markaz Ahle Hadith (LeT facility, Barnala, Pakistan)
Four sites were located in Pakistan, and five in PoK, with key targets including Muridke, the operational headquarters of LeT, and Bahawalpur, a stronghold of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). The strikes, described as “measured” and “non-escalatory,” neutralised terrorist infrastructure linked to LeT, JeM, and Hizbul Mujahideen, killing over 100 terrorists, including high-value targets like Hafiz Abdul Malik and Abu Akasha (Khalid).
Pakistan’s Military-Terror Nexus Exposed
The presence of senior Pakistani military and police officials at the funerals has fueled allegations of a deep-rooted nexus between Pakistan’s state institutions and terrorist organisations. India’s Ministry of External Affairs and armed forces have pointed to the funerals as evidence of Pakistan’s institutional support for jihadist elements. “Pakistan has long maintained that it does not harbour or sponsor terrorism of any kind, but according to images shared by the Indian Armed Forces, many Pakistani Army officials attended the terrorists’ funerals,” an Indian defence official stated.
The funeral in Muridke, attended by Lieutenant General Fayyaz Hussain Shah and others, was held under tight security, with coffins carried by Pakistan Army personnel. Another funeral in Faisalabad for Abu Akasha was attended by senior army officials and the Deputy Commissioner of Faisalabad. In Bahawalpur, the funeral of Khas (Mudassar), an LeT operative who managed the Markaz Taiba camp, was marked by a guard of honor, with wreaths laid on behalf of Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.
Strategic Implications and Ongoing Tensions
The public participation of Pakistan’s military in these funerals has drawn international attention, with India urging the United Nations and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to address Pakistan’s role in supporting terrorism. Foreign Secretary Misri emphasised that the Pahalgam attack, carried out by terrorists trained in Pakistan, was the “original escalation,” and India’s response was proportionate.
“Pakistan escalated the situation; we only responded. The choice of de-escalation is entirely Pakistan’s to make,” he stated.
A Clear Message to Pakistan
India’s release of the names and images of Pakistani officials at the terrorists’ funerals serves as a bold statement against Pakistan’s tacit support for terrorism. The visuals of coffins wrapped in Pakistani flags and prayers led by a globally sanctioned terrorist like Hafiz Abdul Rauf have stripped away Pakistan’s deniability, according to Indian officials. As Misri poignantly asked, “Giving terrorists state funerals may be a practice in Pakistan, but it doesn’t make sense to us.”
With Operation Sindoor exposing Pakistan’s military-terror nexus, India has made it clear that any further provocations will be met with a firm response.
