RAWALPINDI: Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry challenged India’s account of a reported militant killing in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), presenting retired Pakistan Army Havildar Muhammad Asif before the media after Indian authorities and media outlets identified a man with the same name as a militant killed in an operation.
DG ISPR said the incident began Sept. 29, when India’s Chinar Corps announced a joint search operation in the Korag area of Yousmarg and reported that a militant had been killed. Indian Army reporting later identified the militant as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa and said his body was recovered in the Palmaidan area.
Indian reports said Asif, also known as Hashim Moosa, was a Lashkar-e-Taiba militant and a former member of Pakistan’s Special Services Group. Indian authorities also linked him to several attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, including the 2025 Pahalgam attack.
Chaudhry disputed those claims and said Indian media had published detailed biographical information about the man they said was killed, including claims about his military service.
He then brought retired Havildar Muhammad Asif before reporters.
Asif said he was a resident of Pindi Gheb in Attock district and learned through friends that Indian media and social media platforms were reporting his death in Kashmir.
“I was sitting at home, yet they were claiming to have killed me in Kashmir,” he said.
Asif said he received calls from unknown Indian numbers asking about his identity and personal details after reports of his alleged death circulated. He said he blocked the numbers and later saw reports carrying his photograph and details of his military service.
He said he joined the Pakistan Army’s Artillery Corps in 2000 and the Special Services Group in 2005. According to Asif, he served for 18 years before retiring in 2023.
He rejected allegations that he was involved in cross-border terrorism and said he currently lives in Rawalpindi.
“I am alive and standing before you today,” he said.
Chaudhry described the episode as another “false-flag” operation by India and accused New Delhi of attempting to associate Pakistan with militant activity in Kashmir.
He said India had repeatedly sought to link Pakistani individuals and the military to incidents in Jammu and Kashmir and criticized what he described as the use of encounter narratives to support those claims.
India has rejected Pakistan’s characterization. Indian Army statements said its forces, along with the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force, conducted the Korag operation based on intelligence inputs and reported recovering the body of a militant identified as Moosa.
Chaudhry also accused India of attempting to shift attention from its domestic and regional challenges by attributing security incidents to Pakistan.
Responding to a question, Chaudhry said Pakistan remained committed to implementing its defense agreement with Saudi Arabia.
He said details of defense cooperation under the agreement were confidential and could not be discussed publicly.
He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the security of the holy sites in Saudi Arabia and said the country was prepared to protect its national security and territorial borders.
Chaudhry also declined to comment on political matters, including questions concerning the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party and its founder, Imran Khan.
He said politics was the responsibility of political parties and elected governments and reiterated that Pakistan’s armed forces were subject to the Constitution and state authority. He said Pakistan had been fighting terrorism for two decades and that counterterrorism efforts would not be compromised for political interests
