“I Was Sitting at Home, Astonished by Indian Claims,” Says Havildar Asif

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Army Havildar Muhammad Asif, whom Indian authorities and media had claimed was killed in Indian-administered Kashmir, said he was shocked to learn about the reports while sitting safely at home.

Speaking at a press conference alongside Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Asif said he began receiving calls from friends and relatives after Indian media reported that he had been killed.

According to the DG ISPR, the Indian Army had claimed on September 29 that it killed a Lashkar-e-Taiba militant identified as Muhammad Asif alias Hashim Musa during an operation in Indian-administered Kashmir. Indian media and military sources subsequently circulated a service number and claimed that the person was a former Havildar of Pakistan’s Special Service Group (SSG).

Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry rejected the claims and presented Muhammad Asif alive before the media.

Asif, a resident of Pindi Gheb in Attock district, said he was alive and currently working for a private security company in Rawalpindi.

“Suddenly, I started receiving calls from friends and relatives telling me that Indian media were reporting my martyrdom,” he said. “I was sitting at home, astonished by these claims.”

Asif said he had formally retired from the SSG in 2023. He added that he had served his country in the past and remained ready to serve it in the future.

He strongly condemned what he described as baseless allegations against him and said he was alive and present before the media.