Pakistani officer India claimed killed appears alongside DG ISPR at presser

Pakistan’s military on Thursday challenged India’s account of an encounter in Indian-administered Kashmir, presenting at a news conference a man it said Indian authorities and media had reported as killed in the operation and accusing New Delhi of staging a “false-flag” narrative.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry identified the man as Mohammad Asif, also known as Hashim Moosa or Asif Fauji, and disputed Indian claims that he was a Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant killed in an overnight operation in the Korag area of Yousmarg in Budgam district.

“Today I will talk about a so-called terrorist incident, a false flag that has been staged by the Indian political military,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said.

He presented a timeline that he said showed how the account of the operation developed.

According to the DG ISPR, the sequence began on Sept 29, when India’s Chinar Corps announced on social media that the Indian Army, Indian-administered Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force had launched an operation in the general area of Korag, Yousmarg, based on intelligence inputs.

He then referred to a Chinar Corps post issued on the morning of Sept 30, which said security forces had recovered the body of a “Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist”.

The Chinar Corps later said the body had been identified as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa, whom Indian authorities described as a Pakistan-based LeT militant. Indian media outlet ANI subsequently reported that Asif had been inducted into Pakistan’s Special Services Group (SSG).

Lt Gen Chaudhry said India’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Press Information Bureau subsequently reiterated the account.

India’s Home Affairs Ministry said the “neutralisation” of “Musa alias Asif Fauji” was part of an “ongoing long-sustained Operation Sheruwali” that had been under way since May.

Indian reports said Asif had previously served in Pakistan’s military before joining LeT and had been wanted in connection with the April 2025 Pahalgam attack. Indian authorities have attributed the Pahalgam attack to Pakistan-based militants, while Pakistan has rejected the allegations.

India said the operation followed months of intelligence-led efforts to locate Asif. Lt Gen Chaudhry challenged that account, pointing to the Indian claim that the operation had culminated in his death.

“After six months of hard work, Musa alias Asif Fauji has been neutralized. Congratulations, applause,” he said sarcastically.

The DG ISPR then read out Indian claims about Asif’s alleged involvement in a series of attacks, including the Kandi attack in May 2023, Halan in August 2023, DKG in December 2023, Shah Sitar in May 2024, Shiv Khori in June 2024, Gagangeer and Boota Pahari in October 2024, and Basira in April 2025.

He also said the Indian government had claimed that three other “members of the group” were killed in the operation.

Reading from the Indian Press Information Bureau’s account, Lt Gen Chaudhry said it had described the operation as resulting in the deaths of “four senior LeT commanders”.

He also criticised Indian media coverage, displaying screengrabs of reports by News18, The Statesman, India Today, Hindustan Times, ABP Live and The Indian Express.

“Now they said, ‘Let’s jump in’,” he said.

Man reported killed appears at briefing

Lt Gen Chaudhry then called Asif to join him at the press conference, presenting his appearance as a direct challenge to the Indian account.

Asif, who said he was a resident of Attock district, told reporters that friends had contacted him after seeing reports on social media claiming that he had been killed by the Indian army in Kashmir.

“Yesterday, some friends called me and told me there were reports on social media that I had been martyred by the Indian army in Kashmir,” he said.

“To their concerns, I responded that I was here, alive and healthy.”

Asif said he also received calls from Indian numbers seeking his personal information, identity, whereabouts and any connection to the reports.

“Through ANI on social media, I became aware of the reports that Indian media, using my personal data, had named me as a martyr in an operation in Kashmir,” he said.

India’s Ministry of Home Affairs said on Sept 30 that Musa, also known as Asif Fauji, had been killed in an intelligence-led joint operation in Budgam. It said the operation brought to four the number of senior LeT commanders from the group it was tracking who had been “neutralized”.

Pakistan has previously rejected Indian accusations linking it to the Pahalgam attack.