Operation Sindoor: Why Indian forces picked Pakistan's Muridke as one of the targets for strike

Operation Sindoor: In a military operation codenamed "Operation Sindoor," Indian forces conducted precision strikes against multiple terrorist outfits across Pakistan, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarters in Muridke, often described as Pakistan's "terror nursery."

The carefully planned operation was launched in response to the April 22 terror attack near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir where terrorists of Hafiz Saeed-led Lashkar-e-Taiba's proxy The Resistance Front (TRF) killed 26 people.

Operation Sindoor: Locations struck

* Jaish-e-Mohammed: Markaz Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur, Sarjal at Tehra Kalan, Markaz Abbas in Kotli, and Syedna Bilal camp in Muzaffarabad.

* Lashkar-e-Taiba: Markaz Taiba in Murdike, Markaz Ahle Hadith in Barnala, and Shwawai Nalla camp in Muzaffarabad.

* Hizbul Mujahideen: Makaz Raheel Shahid in Kotli and Mehmoona Joya in Sialkot.

Lashkar-e-Taiba campus in Muridke, Lahore

Situated 40 kms away from Lahore, the compound in Muridke that spans approximately 200 acres has long been identified as a critical infrastructure hub for terrorist operations. It houses the administrative centers and training facilities of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its front organization, Jamaat-ud-Dawa.

Also Read: Operation Sindoor Live Blog

* Established in the year 2000, Markaz Taiba is the 'alma mater' and the most important training centre of Lashar-e-Taiba located in Nangal Sahdan, Muridke, Sheikhupura, Punjab, Pakistan.

* The complex comprises of madarsa, market, residential area for terror entities, sports facility, a fish farm and agricultural tracts.

* The complex holds arms and physical trainings facility and radicalisation and indoctrination for terror entities both from within Pakistan and abroad.

* There is a Sufa Academy, located in the Markaz catering to religious indoctrination for male cadres and a separate Sufa education centre for women.

* This markaz serves as mushrooming ground for radicalisation of students to motivate them to join armed jehad. It can be compared to a terror factory.

* This markaz enrols around 1000 students in different courses annually there by highlighting the role of this markaz in churning out terror entities for LeT annually.

* LeT and Jamaat-ud-Dawa also conducts periodical training for its entire leadership in this facility.

* Osama bin Laden had financed Rs 10 million for construction of mosque and guest house within the Markaz Taiba complex in the year 2000.

Other sites targeted during Operation Sindoor strikes include facilities in Punjab's Bahawalpur, known as the operational base of Jaish-e-Mohammed, and locations in Kotli and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

As per security analysts, Bahawalpur holds particular significance as it serves as the headquarters for the group linked to Masood Azhar, who orchestrated the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

NDTV quoted sources as saying that some of Wednesday's targets had previously been considered during planning for India's response to the 2019 Pulwama attack, which had led to air strikes on terror camps in Balakot.

The defence ministry characterized the operation that was executed at 1:44 am as "precise and restrained," and emphasized that no Pakistani military installations were targeted — a deliberate choice reflecting India's "calibrated and non-escalatory approach."

The ministry stated, "This operation underscores India's resolve to hold perpetrators accountable while avoiding unnecessary provocation," adding that Pakistan had "indulged in denial" rather than taking action against terrorists following the Pahalgam attack.

The operation marked a historic collaboration among all three branches of the Indian Armed Forces — Army, Air Force, and Navy — representing their first joint strike operation since 1971.

In response, Pakistan has asserted its "right to respond" and has violated ceasefire agreements in several locations. According to the Additional Directorate General of Public Information, "Pakistan again violates the Ceasefire Agreement by firing artillery in Bhimber Gali in the Poonch-Rajouri area. Indian Army is responding appropriately in a calibrated manner."