ISLAMABAD – Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry holds presser on rapidly fake Indian narrative surrounding killing of an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant in occupied Kashmir, calling the episode another alleged “false-flag” operation.
The controversy centres on the identity of a man killed during an Indian security operation in the Korag-Yousmarg area of Budgam. Indian authorities identified him as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa, while Indian media later claimed he was a former Pakistan Army Special Services Group (SSG) soldier.
The DG ISPR, however, drew attention to the sequence in which the identity and alleged background of the slain man emerged, presenting a timeline that Pakistan says raises questions over the Indian account.
According to the timeline presented by Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the episode began on the night of September 29 when the Indian Army’s Chinar Corps announced a joint operation in the general area of Korag in Tral.
Indian forces said the operation was launched on the basis of specific intelligence. Troops allegedly detected suspicious movement and challenged the individuals in the area, following which the suspected militants opened fire.
The Indian Army said an intense exchange of gunfire followed and one alleged terrorist was killed, while the operation remained underway.
At this initial stage, the deceased was not publicly identified.
7.5 hours later, name emerges
Around seven and a half hours after the first announcement, the Indian Army issued another update identifying the slain individual as Muhammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa.
Indian authorities described him as an alleged LeT militant.
A subsequent search operation reportedly recovered the body from the Palmaidan area along with what the Indian Army described as war-like stores.
Then comes the Pakistan SSG claim
The narrative took another significant turn later on September 30.
Between approximately 2:20pm and 3:33pm, Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI), citing unnamed sources, reported that the deceased was allegedly a former Pakistani SSG soldier named Muhammad Asif.
The report also referred to an image purportedly showing a Pakistani National Identity Card.
Indian media subsequently circulated claims that the alleged militant had served in the Pakistan Army before joining the SSG.
ANI publishes FAKE military profile
ANI reported that Muhammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa was born on March 7, 1980, and joined the Pakistan Army in 2000 under service number PA-3106947.
The report claimed he eventually retired with the rank of Havildar.
According to ANI, Asif was inducted into the Special Services Group in 2005 and served with the 4 Commando “Yalgar” Battalion.
The agency further claimed that he was posted to Balochistan from 2006 and participated in approximately 10 operations against Baloch insurgents, while attributing 13 personal kills to him.
ANI also claimed that he had been part of the security detail of former president Pervez Musharraf.
Indian government communications follow
At around 3:39pm, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Press Information Bureau issued communications describing the deceased as an alleged LeT commander.
The individual was referred to as Musa, also known as Asif Fauji.
The claims then spread widely across Indian mainstream media and social media, with multiple reports portraying Muhammad Asif as a former Pakistani SSG soldier.
India Today subsequently reported the killing under the headline: “Lashkar commander Musa killed in J&K’s Budgam; 4-member LeT group wiped out: Govt.”
Indian authorities have separately described Musa as the last surviving member of a four-man LeT group and linked the group to a series of attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
Pahalgam link adds another layer
The alleged identity of the slain man was also connected in Indian reporting to the April 22, 2025 Pahalgam attack.
Indian authorities and media have previously alleged Pakistani involvement in the attack. The latest Indian reporting again described Asif as wanted in connection with the incident.
The Indian government has also claimed that the slain LeT commander was associated with a number of attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
DG ISPR focuses on changing versions
For Pakistan, however, the key issue highlighted during the briefing was not simply the reported killing but the sequence of changing descriptions attached to the deceased.
The individual was initially presented as an unidentified militant.
He was subsequently identified as Muhammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa and described as an alleged LeT operative.
Later, Indian media reports claimed that the same person was a former Pakistani SSG soldier, with detailed allegations about his military service and alleged involvement in operations in Balochistan.
Pakistan has presented these successive developments as evidence of what it characterises as another Indian “false-flag” operation.
The Indian Army, meanwhile, has maintained that the man killed in the Korag operation was Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa, whom it describes as a Pakistan-based LeT militant.
The sharply contrasting narratives have placed the identity and alleged background of the deceased at the centre of the latest India-Pakistan dispute, with the DG ISPR using the chronology of the announcements and reports to challenge the version emerging from India.
