Why India Hit Bahawalpur, Muridke, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, and Bagh in Operation Sindoor

As part of its precision retaliatory strike codenamed Operation Sindoor, India targeted five key locations across the Line of Control and the international border—Bahawalpur, Muridke, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, and Bagh—known to be associated with cross-border terror infrastructure. The operation followed the April 22 massacre of 26 civilians in Jammu & Kashmir's Pahalgam, where male Hindus were selectively killed—an act India has directly linked to Pakistan -based terror outfits.

Why these five locations?
Among the confirmed targets, Muzaffarabad, the administrative capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), holds both symbolic and strategic value. Intelligence reports have long pointed to it as a staging ground for infiltration attempts into Jammu & Kashmir. The area houses a cluster of terror groups supported by the Pakistan Army, making it a high-priority target. Kotli, also in PoK, lies directly across from Jammu, with proximity to Poonch and Rajouri. Its location near known infiltration routes has repeatedly featured in Indian security assessments. Striking Kotli sends a clear signal about India's intent to disrupt logistical and operational support to terror cells at the border.

 

Bahawalpur, in Pakistan’s Punjab province, is a well-documented stronghold of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the group led by Maulana Masood Azhar. Azhar was one of the terrorists released during the 1999 IC-814 hijacking. Bahawalpur is home to JeM training camps and has historically served as the outfit’s headquarters. Its proximity to the Indian border across the Thar desert adds to its tactical importance.

Muridke, near Lahore, is the base of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the group responsible for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. It houses the Markaz-e-Taiba, LeT’s ideological and operational headquarters, under the leadership of Hafiz Saeed.
Bagh, also in PoK, is lesser known to the public but flagged by Indian intelligence for supporting terror recruitment and providing cover for operatives moving across the LoC.

India’s defence ministry emphasized that the strikes under Operation Sindoor were “focused, measured, and non-escalatory.” No Pakistani military or civilian targets were hit—only known terror facilities. The Indian Air Force had issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) on Tuesday, describing large-scale drills near the border as a routine training exercise, which in hindsight acted as a smokescreen for the operation.
 

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