Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General 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 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 press 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. False Flag Operations by India. Pictorial representation 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. DG 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.” Talking about the Makkah agreement, he said the matter of troop deployment to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was a “confidential matter”. Pakistan-India May conflict This is not the first time India has staged a “false flag operation” against Pakistan. Last year on April 22, 2025, escalation between Pakistan and India began when an attack in Pahalgam killed 26 people. India immediately blamed Pakistan for the incident. However, Pakistan categorically rejected the Indian blame. In response, India undertook a series of hostile actions the next day, on April 23, 2025, including suspending the 65-year-old Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), cancelling visas for Pakistani citizens, closing the Wagah-Attari border crossing, ordering the shutdown of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, and reducing diplomatic staff at each other's embassies. Tensions further escalated in the early hours of May 7, 2025, when missile strikes hit six cities in Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), destroying a mosque and killing dozens of civilians, including women, children, and the elderly. In a swift military response, Pakistan’s armed forces shot down Indian warplanes, including three Rafale jets. The confrontation intensified again in the early hours of May 10, 2025, when India targeted several Pakistani airbases with missile strikes. In retaliation, Pakistan launched Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, damaging Indian military installations, including missile storage sites, airbases, and other strategic targets. On May 10, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire had been reached following intense overnight diplomatic efforts. Minutes later, the agreement was confirmed separately by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and the Indian foreign secretary. Indian sponsored terrorism timeline Pakistan has for decades maintained that India supports and sponsors terrorist activity inside the country. The issue has featured prominently in diplomatic exchanges between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, including at the United Nations. In October 2015, Pakistan formally presented dossiers to then-UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon alleging Indian involvement in terrorism and instability in Balochistan, Karachi and the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The Express Tribune reported that Pakistan's Foreign Office said the dossiers contained details of alleged Indian interference and links between Indian security and intelligence agencies and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). In January 2017, Pakistan submitted another dossier to the UN concerning what it described as Indian intelligence agency RAW's involvement in terrorism and destabilisation efforts, particularly in Balochistan, FATA and Karachi. The submission followed Pakistan's arrest of Kulbhushan Jadhav, whom Islamabad identified as an Indian intelligence operative. Pakistan again raised the issue internationally in November 2020, when its UN ambassador handed Secretary-General António Guterres a dossier that Islamabad described as documenting Indian state-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan. Pakistan said the dossier included documents as well as audio and video evidence that showed communications between Indian handlers and militants operating in Pakistan. The issue also surfaced repeatedly at the UN General Assembly. In September 2022, Pakistani diplomat Saima Saleem said India was supporting terrorist groups including the TTP and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). More recently, Pakistan's accusations have focused heavily on Balochistan. In April 2025, the DG ISPR, Chaudhry, presented evidence of an Indian-sponsored network operating inside Pakistan. He said that Indian personnel were providing militants with explosives, improvised explosive devices and funding.     This story is being updated ...