Director General ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has refuted Indian claims that a Pakistani SSG Havildar was killed during an operation.

Addressing a news conference in Rawalpindi today [Thursday], he presented the retired SSG Havildar alive before the media.

The Director General referred to a so-called terrorist incident, a false flag that was staged by the Indian political military last month.

He said the Indian corps deployed in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir made a claim on social media about killing a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist.  The Indian military further claimed to have identified the deceased as Muhammad Asif alias Hashim Musa, who had been inducted into the Special Services Group of the Pakistan Army.

Speaking alongside Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Muhammad Asif said he is very much alive and has been living in his native district of Attock since his retirement from the Pakistan Army in 2023.  He said he was surprised to hear the fake news of his death at the hands of the Indian Army.

Highlighting the habit of staging false flag operations against Pakistan, the DG ISPR said New Delhi orchestrates such incidents to cover its own tracks of terrorism. He said India is the biggest sponsor of terrorism in the world. He said it is terrorising the region and the countries around India. It is terrorising Muslims inside India and other minorities.

He said this habit of false flag operations has further encouraged India to resort to transnational killings.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry further said the episode of making false claims is a glaring example of a fabricated narrative. He said allegations against Pakistan should be substantiated with evidence and reiterated Pakistan's position that if India has evidence regarding any incident, it should present it through an appropriate forum.

The DG ISPR said Pakistan remains prepared to respond to any aggression and reiterated that the country would not accept attempts to malign Pakistan through fabricated narratives. 

Answering a question regarding the terrorist threat from Afghanistan, Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan's policy is very clear that there is no compromise on its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

He said Pakistan has the right to self-defence. He, however, made it clear that Pakistan has nothing against Afghanistan or the Afghan people. He said the problem is with the Afghan Taliban regime, which has forced itself upon Afghanistan. He said the Afghan Taliban regime is non-inclusive, non-representative, and non-elected.

Replying to another question, he said Pakistan is committed to the Makkah Alliance as well as to the security and sanctity of Harmain al-Sharifain and Saudi Arabia.