RAWALPINDI: Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, while reiterating that there would be no compromise on the protection of the country’s geographical borders and national security, on Thursday categorically said that the Pakistan Armed Forces were fully prepared to promptly respond to any move by India.

Addressing a press conference here, the DG ISPR said that Pakistan was ready to counter any Indian “drama” and would do whatever was necessary for the security of the country. He said that Pakistan would deliver a “very painful” response if New Delhi chose to create any “drama”.

Exposing another Indian false flag operation, he presented retired Special Services Group (SSG) Havaldar, Muhammad Asif before the media, after Indian authorities claimed that a senior Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Asif alias Musa had been killed during an operation in the Korag area of Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK).

The Indian authorities had identified Muhammad Asif as a militant killed during an operation on September 29, he clarified, questioning why India had presented a living Pakistani citizen as a militant killed in Kashmir.

Muhammad Asif, who appeared before journalists during the press conference, said he was at home when he learned through calls and media reports that he had been reported killed by the Indian Army.

Asif said he began receiving calls after reports about his death emerged and was told that the Indian Army had claimed he had been killed.

Sharing further details, Asif said that he joined the Pakistan Army in 2000. “In 2005, I joined the SSG, performed my duty with courage for 18 years, and retired in 2023.”

He went on to say that he had also worked for a private security company for three years. “For the past three or four months, I have been living with my family in our home in Rawalpindi,” he told media persons.

Terming the Indian allegations “false, ignominious and disreputable”, he said that he had performed his duties with courage and that Pakistan responded face to face, not from behind.

Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif said Indian authorities and media had presented Asif alias Musa as a terrorist and attributed attacks in different areas to him. Indian reports had also claimed that three of Musa’s associates were killed, he said. He said that India had carried out false flag operations over the years to defame Pakistan.

Terming the Indian “drama” a very shameful and embarrassing act, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that no self-respecting nation would do such a thing. India staged such a drama to cover its own track of terrorism, he said.
He said, “India is the biggest sponsor of terrorism and a terrorist state in the world, and its implication, involvement, and direct and indirect support for terrorism in the region goes back decades.”
“Whether it’s Mukti Bahini or LTT, and now the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), and their funding, sponsorship and planning, it (India) has now become a victim of its own trait,” the DG ISPR remarked.

“They are not just terrorizing the region or countries around the region; they are terrorizing the Muslims inside India, as well as the Kashmiris, Sikhs, Dalits, Christians, etc.,” he explained.
The DG ISPR also played a video clip on the “decades of lies that they have been feeding to their own people as well as to the world at large”.

He said that India had taken out jailed Kashmiri Muslims, killed them, and then staged a false flag operation, portraying it as a terrorist act. Pakistan had previously offered to examine the evidence through a third party if India had proof of Pakistani involvement, but no such evidence was provided, he said.

Reiterating Islamabad’s commitment to the security of Saudi Arabia and the Two Holy Mosques, the DG ISPR said that Pakistan was determined to implement the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement and that there should be no doubt about its commitment to the security of the Haramain Sharifain.

“Our commitment to the security of the Haramain Sharifain is absolute,” he said, adding that Pakistan was prepared to defend the holy sites and ensure the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

He said details of defence cooperation under the agreement could not be discussed publicly because they were confidential.

Responding to a query, the DG ISPR said the military had nothing to do with politics. The armed forces operated under the Constitution and were bound by the orders of the state, he said, adding that engagement with the provinces was the responsibility of the federal government.

He said, “The armed forces of Pakistan are subject to the Constitution and abide by the orders of the state.”

Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that Pakistan had been fighting terrorism for the past two decades and was among the countries most affected by terrorism worldwide. The fight against terrorism could not be compromised for anyone’s political interests, he added.

He said the security forces would continue their efforts to protect the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.