'India tried to bribe Pak fisherman into spying'

He drew parallels between, failed Operation Sindoor, current propaganda campaign

ISLAMABAD:

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry on Saturday revealed that India's intelligence agency had attempted to recruit a Pakistani fisherman for espionage by offering him money.

Addressing a joint press conference in Islamabad alongside Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Chaudhry said the incident was "India's new propaganda operation, which has now been fully exposed".

He said the fisherman, identified as Ijaz Mallah, had been detained by the Indian Coast Guard in September and was subsequently coerced and bribed with Rs95,000 to take part in anti-Pakistan propaganda.

"This is part of a continuous psychological and informational war being waged by Indian intelligence agencies against Pakistan," he said, adding that the country's security institutions remain vigilant to counter such attempts.

Chaudhry credited Pakistan's media and security institutions for "ensuring the triumph of truth in this information war," and praised their responsible reporting in the face of what he termed "yellow propaganda".

He drew parallels between the failed Operation Sindoor and the current propaganda campaign, describing them as repeated attempts by India to "erase the humiliation of past failures".

"After failing in Operation Sindoor, and even in sports arenas, efforts have continued to create false narratives, from fabricated operations to fake encounters. But every such attempt has been exposed," he said.

The minister added that evidence of financial transactions and communication between Indian handlers and Mallah had been recovered. He said fake media credentials, uniforms and documents were also used to mask the operation under seemingly credible identities.

He stressed Pakistan was a responsible state, saying, "Pakistan respects the sovereignty of other nations and ensures its soil is not used against anyone. We expect the same in return".

He urged the international community and independent media to review the evidence and recognise the operation for what it was, "a desperate bid to build a false narrative ahead of elections and amid growing political tensions in India".

"Just like in the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, the truth is once again before the world. India has been caught red-handed," Chaudhry added.