Daniel Pearl’s father slams Pakistan Army for attending terrorists’ funeral

Judea Pearl, father of slain American journalist Daniel Pearl, expressed outrage after photos emerged showing Pakistan army personnel attending the funeral of three terrorists killed in recent Indian military strikes.

Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Judea Pearl questioned the intent behind such a public display of support.

“I wish these dignitaries could tell us: What exactly are you mourning? What role models you wish your children to revere? What have you learned from this man?” Judea Pearl wrote, referring to the terrorists being honored.

Army, JuD leaders attend funeral

The funeral, held on Wednesday (May 7) in Muridke in Pakistan, was attended by both Pakistan army personnel and members of Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), the banned organisation led by Hafiz Saeed.

According to PTI, the funeral prayer was led by Hafiz Abdul Rauf, a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative, underscoring Pakistan’s continued ties with proscribed terror groups. The funeral was for Qari Abdul Malik, Khalid, and Mudassir, killed in India’s strike on the terror group’s headquarters under Operation Sindoor.

MEA links Bahawalpur strike to Daniel Pearl’s killing

Earlier, at a media briefing, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri responded to questions about India’s strike on Bahawalpur’s Markaz Subhan Allah—linked to the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group. He confirmed its ties to the killing of Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter kidnapped and murdered in 2002.

“Bahawalpur is the headquarters of the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist group that is proscribed by the UN. Its leader Masood Azhar is a proscribed individual,” Misri stated. “The JeM was in some way directly or indirectly responsible for the death of Daniel Pearl.”

Misri highlighted that Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the jihadi who lured Pearl to his death, had been imprisoned in India before his release in 2000. “He was the person who lured Daniel Pearl to his murder,” Jaiswal noted.

Operation Sindoor: 9 terror sites destroyed

In a carefully coordinated operation on early Wednesday (May 7), Indian armed forces destroyed nine terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The targets included facilities linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The strikes were in retaliation for the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam and were described as “measured” and “non-escalatory.”

International implications

The public funeral, attended by Pakistan’s army and banned terror groups, is likely to intensify scrutiny of Islamabad’s ties to terrorism. India has reiterated its stance that open support to terror outfits undermines global counterterrorism efforts.