Pakistan Presents Retired Soldier Alive to Counter Indian Army Killing Claim

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military has rejected an Indian claim that a former Pakistan Army soldier was killed as a Lashkar-e-Taiba militant in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, presenting the retired soldier himself before journalists during a press briefing.

Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Indian authorities had identified a militant killed during an operation as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Musa and linked him to the Pakistan Army.

The DG ISPR then presented retired Havildar Mohammad Asif before the media. Asif said he was alive, had served in the Pakistan Army and retired in 2023.

Asif said he had joined the Pakistan Army in 2000 and later served with the Special Services Group (SSG). He rejected the claim that he was the person killed in the Indian operation.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry described the Indian claim as a false-flag narrative and questioned the identification of the person reported killed.

The Pakistani military said the episode demonstrated the importance of independently verifying identities and information, particularly amid heightened tensions between Pakistan and India.

The presentation of the retired soldier before the media has triggered a fresh dispute between the two countries over the identity of the militant killed in the Indian operation and the competing claims surrounding the incident.