Bahawalpur Division: Pakistan’s Most Dangerous Jihadist Stronghold and Hub of Anti-Christian Violence

Bahawalpur Division: Pakistan’s Most Dangerous Jihadist Stronghold and Hub of Sectarian Bloodshed and Anti-Christian Violence

Bahawalpur Division stands as one of Pakistan’s most dangerous and entrenched centers of jihadist power and sectarian warfare. Its three districts Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, and Bahawalnagar provide massive support and thousands of dedicated Jihadis to banned terrorist organizations including Jaish-e-Muhammad, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and Sipah-e-Sahaba. Jaish-e-Muhammad, a powerful arm of the Taliban movement, still maintains thousands of Jihadis actively engaged against Pakistani security forces in Swat and Waziristan and against American and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Western governments and India have long identified this division as a core base of support for both al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Multiple jihad training and operational centers continue to function openly across the region.

Makhzan-ul-Uloom: The Anti-Shia Fortress in Khanpur

In Khanpur tehsil of Rahim Yar Khan, the madrasa Makhzan-ul-Uloom was founded in 1944 between the buildings of the tehsil headquarters. Operating under the patronage of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), it has long served as a central hub of anti-Shia activity. Its founder, the renowned Deobandi Mullah Maulana Abdullah Darkhwasti, was deeply influenced by Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi, a leading figure of the Indian National Congress in the 1920s and a key member of the Tehreek-e-Reshmi Rumal (Silk Letter Movement) that sought to overthrow British rule. Darkhwasti remained central amir of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) until his death in 1994. The Terror madrasa is now run by his son, Ata-ur-Rehman.

Darkhwasti’s grandson, a prominent leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (S) until his death in 2007, established another terror Jamiah named Abdullah ibn Masud in Khanpur. Abdul Sattar Tonsevi, who later became supreme commander of jihadist group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, regularly visited this madrasa for years. Tonsevi, originally from Taunsa in Dera Ghazi Khan, rose to fame in the 1970s and 1980s through fiery anti-Shia speeches. His own son studied at Darul Uloom Eidgah in Kabirwala the same Jamiah that produced Sipah-e-Sahaba founder Jihadi Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi. Khanpur itself is also a major center of Criminal Tablighi Jamaat, and the head of that local chapter is likewise a graduate of Darul Uloom Eidgah.

Jaish-e-Muhammad’s Empire in Bahawalpur

Jaish-e-Muhammad continues to maintain close relations with powerful Pakistani intelligence agencies, particularly the ISI. Its chief, Jihadi Maulana Masood Azhar arrested by India in 1994 and later released in exchange for the hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC-814 established a vast jihad training center in the Cholistan desert area of Bahawalpur. Al-Qaeda provided the funding; the ISI provided full support.

In Bahawalpur city itself, the terror outfits was given five acres of land on which it has constructed a modern headquarters. Thousands of Jaish-e-Muhammad Jihadis live in the city. Terrorist Masood Azhar himself resides in Bahawalpur. While the Pakistani government claims ignorance of his exact location, some sources state that he frequently travels to the Afghan border to meet al-Qaeda terrorists and spends most of his time on the move. This same headquarters and training complex was struck in 2025 during India’s Operation Sindoor; multiple members of Masood Azhar’s family were killed in the attack.

Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, and Bahawalnagar are regarded as the strongest fortresses of Jaish-e-Muhammad, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Sipah-e-Sahaba, and Lashkar-e-Taiba. These districts have supplied thousands of Jihadis not only for the Kashmir jihad and the Afghan campaigns of al-Qaeda and the Taliban, but also for the ongoing sectarian Islamic war inside Pakistan.

Jihadi Malik Ishaq and the Culture of Absolute Impunity

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi commander Jihadi Malik Ishaq hailed from Rahim Yar Khan. He and his terror outfit were accused of the murder of hundreds of Shias. Although he spent time in prison, most cases against him collapsed. Witnesses who attempted to testify were murdered. Judges repeatedly received death threats. Eventually no one remained willing to give evidence against him, and he was released. Testimony against Malik Ishaq meant certain death.

Osama Nazir: The Bahawalpur Link in Multiple Christian Attacks

Terrorist Osama Nazir, also known as Nazir Ahmed, Adil, and Osama Nazir, was arrested in November 2004 from a jihad madrasa in Faisalabad. The United States immediately demanded his extradition. He was accused of involvement in the killing of an American woman diplomat and others in Islamabad.

In March 2002, Jihadis stormed a Protestant church in Islamabad, killing an American diplomat and her daughter and wounding nearly forty people, including ten Americans. On 5 August 2002, armed Jihadis attacked a Christian school in Murree, killing six. The same month, a Christian hospital in Taxila was also attacked. In all these Islamic operations, the role of Jaish-e-Muhammad Jihadist under the ideological guidance of Masood Azhar was prominent.

Osama Nazir had studied in jihad madrasas in Multan and Faisalabad, where he established links with Punjab-based jihadist organizations. Inspired by Taliban ideology, he abandoned his studies and traveled to Afghanistan with companions while the Taliban still held power. He received combat training in Kandahar, mastered multiple weapons, and fought against the Northern Alliance. After the American invasion he returned to Pakistan. Intelligence sources indicated he had married the daughter of a senior Taliban commander. After his arrest, detailed information about him largely disappeared.

Islamic Massacre: The St. Dominic’s Church Massacre 28 October 2001

Just weeks after the 9/11 attacks and the start of the American military campaign in Afghanistan, six masked Jihadis on motorcycles arrived at St. Dominic’s Church in Bahawalpur. They first killed the police guard outside, then entered the church and opened fire with AK-47s on Christians gathered for Sunday service. Between sixteen and eighteen people were slaughtered, including women, children, and the pastor. Many others were critically wounded.

The attackers shouted “Allahu Akbar” and declared “Afghanistan and Pakistan the graveyard of Christians.” The massacre was carried out as direct revenge for the American operation in Afghanistan. Responsibility was attributed to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, with clear links to the networks of Jaish-e-Muhammad and Masood Azhar. To this day, none of the perpetrators have been brought to justice. The attack remains one of the darkest examples of organized Islamic violence against Christians in Pakistan.

Bahawalnagar: A Nursery of Jihadis

Bahawalnagar, marked by chronic poverty and backwardness, has long functioned as a nursery for Jihadis and sectarian mujahideen. Riaz Hussain Pirzada, who has been elected to the National Assembly multiple times from the district, saw a murder case registered against Sipah-e-Sahaba chief Terrorist Maulana Azam Tariq for the killing of his father. Azam Tariq was arrested and later released on bail. Pirzada himself has received countless death threats from Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.

So deep is the fear that on 13 January 2009, the daily Jang published Pirzada’s statement declaring that no action would be allowed against the chief of the banned Jaish-e-Muhammad. Any attack on Maulana Masood Azhar, he said, would be considered an attack on the Seraiki people. Even the BBC expressed surprise at this open defense of a man whose organization, together with Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, has been responsible for widespread sectarian slaughter across Bahawalpur Division.

The Mumbai Connection: Terrorist Hamad Amin of Rahim Yar Khan

Hamad Amin, one of the masterminds of the Mumbai Terror attacks, was a resident of Amanat Colony in Rahim Yar Khan (1-B 602 Bajwa Street). Born on 19 September 1971, he completed matriculation and a four-year course at Muslim Homoeopathic College before opening a medical store. After marriage in 2000 he moved to Karachi, where he worked in a testing laboratory and had two children. He and his family established links with Lashkar-e-Taiba. Hamad received formal training in Lashkar-e-Taiba Jihadist camps and specialized preparation for the Mumbai operation from Terrorist Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and other senior Jihadi leaders, who also provided financial support to his family.

Usman-o-Ali Madrasa: Masood Azhar’s Jihad Factory

In the Model Town area of Bahawalpur stands Jihad Madrasa Usman-o-Ali, founded by Terrorist Maulana Masood Azhar himself. It is one of the largest jihadi Jamia’s in the region. Heavy emphasis is placed on the importance of jihad for Islam. Multiple reports confirm that many of its students are currently terrorists alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s tribal areas.

Armed mujahideen guards stand at the main gate and allow no one to enter without prior permission. Masood Azhar’s father, Jihadi Allah Bakhsh Sabir formerly headmaster or principal of a teacher-training school leads the Salah. Jihadi trainees receive both Islamic teaching

and physical training to prepare them for jihad. A large number of Pashtun Jihadi students live in the attached mosque under strict discipline. No one is permitted to speak a single word about Masood Azhar or his father. Friday khutbah and other gatherings regularly stress the virtues and obligation of jihad. The Jamiah has already produced large batches of trained Jihadis.

Conclusion: An Unbroken Cycle of Islamic Impunity

The pattern continues without interruption. From the anti-Shia fortresses of Khanpur to the vast training complexes of Jaish-e-Muhammad in Cholistan and Bahawalpur city, from the church massacres of 2001 and 2002 to the open political protection still enjoyed by Masood Azhar, a UN and US-designated Muslim terrorist, Bahawalpur Division has functioned for decades as a primary incubator of jihadist manpower, sectarian killers, and anti-Christian violence. Thousands of Jihadis have been supplied for Kashmir, Afghanistan, and the internal sectarian Islam war. Witnesses are murdered, judges are threatened, and the most notorious commanders walk free. Until the networks, the terror madrasas, the safe houses, the training centers, and the culture of official and political complicity are dismantled, the bloodshed and the terrorization of Christians and others will continue without interruption.