'Dead' SSG man 'resurrects' to expose India's lie
Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Thursday rejected Indian claims that a former Pakistan Army soldier had been killed as a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist in the Indian Illegally-Occupied Kashmir (IIOJK), presenting the individual alive before the media and describing the episode as another Indian "false flag operation".
"So-called terrorist incident, another false flag that has been staged by the Indian military. I will take you step by step through the details," Chaudhry said during a press briefing.
He said that he was there to talk about a claim made by the Indian military of an anti-terror operation conducted on Sept 29 inside IIOJK.
The military spokesperson said that the false flag started on the night of Sept 29, when the corps of the Indian military in IIOJK made a social media post saying that "based on specific intelligence input, a joint search operation was launched by the Indian army, Jammu Kashmir police and CRPF Srinagar in the general area Korag, Yousmarg. Vigilant troops observed suspicious activity, and upon being challenged, terrorists opened fire, prompting a fierce exchange of gunfire during which one terrorist was neutralised".
Chaudhry said that after seven hours, the Indian military gave an update yesterday morning, saying that a "body of a Pakistan-based LeT terrorist was recovered in a search operation", further claiming that he had been identified as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa.
The news conference came after Indian media claimed that Asif, also known as Hashim Moosa, was killed in an operation in IIOJK and had previously served in the Pakistan Army. According to the reports that emerged in Indian media, Asif was born on March 7, 1980, joined the Pakistan Army in 2000 under service number PA-3106947 and retired with the rank of Havildar. Indian media further claimed that he was inducted into the Special Services Group (SSG) in 2005 and served with the 4 Commando "Yalgar" Battalion.
The reports alleged that Asif was deployed in Balochistan from 2006, where he took part in around 10 operations against Baloch insurgents and was credited with 13 "personal kills". They also claimed that he served on former president Pervez Musharraf's VVIP security team between 2006 and 2009.
The DG ISPR stated that the Indian newspaper ANI reported further details about "Asif", including his joining date, his service number, details of his retirement, his photo, and further claimed that he was a former Hawaldar of the SSG branch of the Pakistan military. "A very interesting story is getting cooked, and you have a face as well. You might recall the false flags of Uri, Pahalgam and Pulwama."
He further stated that the Indian government then claimed through the Home Affairs and Press Information Bureau that the Indian Army had neutralised a LeT "commander", who was later identified as "Musa aka Asif Fauji", through an intelligence-led operation.
"According to the Indian government, this was a serious blow to the LeT ecosystem, and Asif had been operating in Jammu and Kashmir since 2022 and was involved in sensational attacks. Asif was neutralised after six months of a sustained operation," he added.
The military spokesperson said that the "so-called credible Indian media" jumped onto the bandwagon, repeating the claims of the Indian government of killing a Pakistani SSG officer during an Indian military operation.
"Now that the Indian military has claimed that Musa is an ex-Hawaldar of the SSG, the question becomes: where is Musa?" he remarked before presenting Asif to the audience.
"Here is that superman gentleman; you can see this superman. Please tell us about your activities. I would request my dear friend Hawaldar Asif to tell something about himself".
Asif stated that he had been receiving calls since yesterday from Indian numbers inquiring about him, further adding that he had seen social media commentary about his "killing" in an Indian military operation. "I was sitting at home when I heard these false reports from the Indian media. This is a heinous allegation from the Indian media, and my presence here shows that I am alive".
"I was inducted in 2000 in the Pakistan Army and joined the SSG in 2005 and served for 18 years and retired from service in 2023," Asif stated.
"What was the need for this drama from India? There are six reasons for this, and it is important to understand why Indians keep on repeating this drama. It is a very shameful and embarrassing thing that no self-respecting nation does," DG ISPR stated.
Chaudhry said that the first reason for these repeated Indian accusations was to "cover its own track of terrorism", adding that India was the biggest terrorist state in the world and its involvement in terrorism in the region went back decades through funding and sponsorship of terror outfits.
"They think that every problem can be rectified and addressed through terrorism. They are terrorising Muslims, Sikhs, Kashmiris, Dalits, tribals and Christians inside India. Such a country that lives and breathes in terrorism is afraid that its dark face will be exposed. What better way to cover your tracks than to call everyone else a terrorist? That is why you see these false, concocted stories coming out of India. This list of false flag events goes back decades, and they have been feeding these lies to their own people and to the world at large," he remarked.
The DG ISPR further stated: "We need to understand that this habit of false flag operations has further encouraged India to even go for transnational killings; you must have seen how they are doing targeted killings far beyond their borders, and the world has seen that. You then need to cover your tracks because they see their own face in the mirror. They are proud of their terrorism."
DG Chaudhry noted that those guilty of perpetrating terrorism internationally could easily concoct stories to accuse Pakistan.
"A normal human cannot comprehend the basis for this drama," he said, assailing the new false flag operation by India. He said such concocted stories appealed to the Indians to create relevance for Indian oppression in IIOJK.
"IIOJK is the biggest garrison in the world, for every 10th Kashmiri, there is a soldier or security official deployed by the Indian Army," he highlighted, adding that nearly a million guard IIOJK.
"Hawaldar Asif does not have to go across the border to instigate Kashmiris," he said, explaining that Indian oppression of Kashmiris and refuting their right to self-determination caused the reaction of Kashmiris that India tries to pin on Pakistan.
"If you wish for a fight, engage with us like you did in Marka-e-Haq and let us teach you a lesson," DG Chaudhry warned.
He lamented that India was obsessed with Pakistan, built lies surrounding it and came up with theatrics matching Bollywood.
The DG ISPR said if the Indians wished to pursue a fresh conflict, "they are most welcome, but this time we will not leave them so easily.
"This time the cost that Pakistan will inflict on their strategic folly will be very, very severe."
Makkah pact and Afghanistan
Talking about the Makkah agreement, he said the matter of troop deployment to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was a "confidential matter".
He noted that the operationalisation of the defensive actions under the Makkah alliance was a matter of "operational necessity and confidentiality", adding that it was not a matter for media discourse. "There should be complete clarity that Pakistan's commitment to Saudi Arabia security and sanctity is absolute".
While answering a question on cross-border terrorism emanating from Afghanistan, the DG ISPR noted that as per the Constitution, the army worked under the federal government and therefore it was the task of the federal government to coordinate with the provincial government, further adding that there would be no compromise on "Pakistan's territorial integrity and sovereignty" and everything necessary would be done to secure it.
Responding to another question on India's standing in the world, he stated that "the Indian façade is very well exposed to the whole world. You are hearing from the Canadian prime minister and the US secretary of state talking about Indian terrorism. The façade of Shining India has been exposed."
Answering a question on operations against the Afghan Taliban, DG Chaudhry noted that the Afghan Taliban had made their choice of "abetting and sponsoring terrorism".
He further asked representatives of international media outlets to probe the Afghan government on why there were Afghans involved in acts of terrorism inside Pakistan and what Afghanistan was doing about it, further adding that Pakistan has nothing against the people of Afghanistan.
"The problem is with the Afghan Taliban regime that has forced itself on the country; it is non-inclusive, non-representative, unelected, and because it's a forced regime, such regimes need insecurity and oppression to thrive. For that, they have gathered the whole alphabetic soup of terrorist organisations from ISKP to ETIM. Pakistan, as the frontline state, is fighting these groups."
When asked a question on the PTI's planned long march, he stated that the "army has nothing to do with politics and we will not answer anything related to politics. Politics is for the political parties and the government".
He suggested adhering to the devised National Action Plan for the elimination of terrorism.
"State supersedes politics; the state supersedes democracy too," the DG ISPR emphasised.