Pakistan vows to rebuild Muridke JuD mosques hit by Indian strike
Islamabad: The Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), widely recognised as the political face of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) and a front for the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), said on Saturday that the Pakistan government has promised to reconstruct the mosques at Muridke, which functioned as JuD’s headquarters, destroyed during India’s recent military action.
The missile strikes, part of India’s retaliatory Operation Sindoor following the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, targeted nine terror locations across Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) on May 7.
Among these were the LeT’s Muridke base and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) stronghold in Bahawalpur.
While Indian officials identified the Muridke site as a terrorist infrastructure hub, Pakistan maintains that it was a mosque and an educational complex that were hit. Muridke lies about 40 km from Lahore.
Three JuD members were reportedly killed in the strikes, and controversy ensued after senior figures from Pakistan’s army, police, and civilian administration attended their funerals.
In a statement, PMML president Khalid Masood Sindhu praised Islamabad’s move: “The government has announced to rebuild the mosques destroyed in the Indian attack. It is a welcoming step.”
Pakistan’s armed forces responded to Operation Sindoor with what they called Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, claiming they had conducted "precise and notch-up retributive strikes."
“The success of Operation Bunyanum Marsoos sends a clear message to India that Pakistan knows how to defend its homeland,” Sindhu said. “We have not forgotten, nor will we ever forget, the martyrs of our nation. Every worker of the PMML stands vigilant and ever-ready to defend the country.”
India flags terror funding concerns at IMF
India has raised objections at the international level, urging the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reassess its recent decision to disburse $1 billion to Pakistan. New Delhi warned that Islamabad could redirect a significant portion of these funds to rebuild terror infrastructure.
Addressing air force personnel in Gujarat's Bhuj, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh accused Pakistan of using public money to resuscitate militant networks.
“Pakistan has again started trying to rebuild the terror infrastructure destroyed by India last week,” he said, adding that the government in Islamabad is set to pay around Rs 14 crore to JeM chief Masood Azhar—a UN-designated terrorist.
“The Pakistan government has announced financial assistance to rebuild the terror infrastructure of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed located in Muridke and Bahawalpur. Certainly, a large part of IMF's USD one billion assistance will be used to fund the terror infrastructure,” Singh asserted.
The IMF had cleared the latest tranche of its $7 billion support programme for Pakistan during a board meeting held in Washington on May 9.
JuD base receives political support
Former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Siraj-ul-Haq also visited the Jamia Masjid Umm al-Qura at Muridke and criticised India’s missile offensive.
He claimed the strikes destroyed the mosque, surrounding homes, and a student hostel, but added that the morale of the local community remained high.
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