Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has challenged Indian claims that a Pakistani national wanted in connection with the Pahalgam attack was killed during an operation in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Indian authorities had identified the reported casualty as Mohammad Asif, alias Hashim Moosa, and said he was linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba.
At a press briefing, Lt Gen Chaudhry presented Mohammad Asif before journalists and said the man was alive. Asif said he had learned through social media that he had reportedly been killed and told reporters that he was at home at the time.
Asif said he joined the Pakistan Army in 2000, entered the Special Services Group in 2005 and retired as a havildar in 2023. He rejected the allegations against him as false.
Lt Gen Chaudhry questioned the sequence of Indian military and media reports, saying the claims evolved from an initial report of an encounter to the identification of the alleged casualty as a former Pakistani soldier.
Indian military sources, meanwhile, maintained that Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa was killed during an operation in Budgam’s Yousmarg area and that his body was recovered after the encounter.
The DG ISPR attributed the episode to what he described as a broader Indian campaign against Pakistan, citing tensions over Kashmir, political narratives and India-Pakistan relations. He also called for evidence to be presented to a third party if India had proof supporting its allegations.
He further criticised Indian media coverage of the incident and questioned the repeated use of Pakistani links in reports concerning security operations.
The briefing comes against the backdrop of continuing tensions between Pakistan and India following the April 2025 Pahalgam attack and the subsequent military confrontation between the two countries.
