Pakistan Presents Retired SSG Soldier Alive After India Claims LeT Commander Killed in Kashmir

RAWALPINDI (Terror Monitor) — Pakistan’s military on Thursday presented a retired Pakistan Army soldier before the media after Indian authorities and news organisations reported that a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander identified as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Musa had been killed in an encounter in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

The development has created a direct dispute over the identity of the man killed during the Indian security operation in Budgam district, with India maintaining that its forces eliminated a senior LeT commander, while Pakistan says the man whose identity was publicly circulated by Indian media is alive and living in Pakistan.

The Indian Army’s Chinar Corps had said that security forces launched a joint operation in the Korag area near Yousmarg in Budgam on September 29 following intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists. The Army said a suspected militant opened fire after being challenged, triggering an exchange of gunfire in which one militant was killed.

On Wednesday, the Indian Army said the body recovered during a subsequent search operation in the Palmaidan area had been identified as Pakistan-based LeT militant Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa, along with what it described as “war-like stores.”

Indian media subsequently reported that Asif, also known as Hashim Musa or Musa, had previously served in Pakistan’s elite Special Services Group (SSG). Indian reports linked him to several attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, including the April 2025 Pahalgam attack.

Pakistan presents Mohammad Asif

Addressing a press conference in Rawalpindi on Thursday, Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, rejected the Indian account and described the reports as fabricated.

He then invited a man identified as retired Pakistan Army Havildar Mohammad Asif to the podium.

Asif told reporters that he was from Pindi Gheb in Attock district and said he had joined the Pakistan Army in 2000. He said he later served with the SSG and retired from the military in 2023.

He said that after his retirement he worked for a private security company before returning to live with his family in Attock.

“I am alive and before you,” Asif said, according to Pakistani media reports. He said acquaintances began calling him after reports emerged claiming that he had been killed in Kashmir. He also said he received calls from Indian numbers that he subsequently blocked.

Pakistan’s military said Asif was the same person whose identity and alleged military background had been circulated by Indian media in connection with the Kashmir operation.

The Associated Press reported that Pakistan presented Asif after Indian reports had circulated photographs and details of a national identity document purportedly belonging to the man killed in Kashmir. AP said Asif, a former Pakistani soldier who retired in 2023, publicly denied that he was the militant killed in the operation.

Indian reports identify slain militant as Mohammad Asif

Indian authorities and media outlets had given a different account of the incident.

India’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Indian security officials described the slain man as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Musa, a senior LeT commander allegedly involved in attacks across Jammu and Kashmir.

Indian reports said the operation was based on intelligence about the presence of highly trained militants in the Yousmarg area. The Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force were involved in the operation.

Indian news reports also claimed that the man had previously served as a havildar in Pakistan’s SSG and had subsequently joined LeT.

The Indian Express reported that Hashim Musa, also referred to as Asif Fauji, had been wanted in connection with several attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and that Indian forces had conducted a prolonged operation to locate him.

The Times of India reported that Indian security agencies had been tracking Musa for months and that an intelligence-led operation culminated in the encounter near Yousmarg.

Competing claims over identity

The central issue now is whether the man killed in Budgam was the same Mohammad Asif who appeared before journalists in Rawalpindi.

Indian authorities have continued to identify the slain militant as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Musa, while Pakistan says the retired SSG soldier with that name is alive.

The two accounts have not been independently reconciled in the available public reporting.

The discrepancy became particularly significant after Indian media outlets published alleged identity and service details of the slain militant. Pakistani officials subsequently used the appearance of a living retired soldier with the same name to challenge the Indian identification.

The Associated Press described the episode as a dispute over the identity of the man killed in Kashmir and noted that Pakistan’s military accused India of fabricating the account, while India’s Ministry of Home Affairs maintained that security forces had eliminated a militant leader identified as Asif Fauji.

India’s allegations over Pahalgam attack

Before the Pakistani press conference, Indian authorities had linked Hashim Musa to several major attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.

Indian reports described him as a close associate of Suleman Shah and alleged that he was involved in planning or commanding operations connected to the April 2025 Pahalgam attack, in which 26 people were killed.

Indian media also linked him to other attacks in the region, including incidents in Dehra Ki Gali, Gagangir and other areas of Jammu and Kashmir.

India has previously blamed Pakistan-based armed groups for attacks in Kashmir, while Pakistan has repeatedly rejected Indian allegations that its state institutions support such attacks.

Pakistan accuses India of a “false flag” operation

During Thursday’s briefing, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry accused India of using the incident to construct a narrative against Pakistan and called it a “false flag” operation.

He also accused Indian authorities and media organisations of coordinating their reporting and alleged that the incident was part of a broader effort to portray Pakistan as supporting terrorism.

Those accusations are disputed by India, which has not accepted Pakistan’s account that the retired soldier presented in Rawalpindi is the same individual identified by Indian forces as Hashim Musa.

The Pakistani military spokesperson also warned that any Indian action based on the disputed claims could have serious consequences. His remarks came amid already heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

A new dispute in already tense India-Pakistan relations

The episode comes against the backdrop of continuing tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad over Kashmir and cross-border militancy.

The Pahalgam attack in April 2025 became a major flashpoint between the two countries and was followed by a sharp military confrontation in May 2025. India blamed Pakistan-based groups for the attack, while Islamabad rejected the allegations.

The latest dispute over the identity of the man killed in Budgam therefore carries significance beyond the immediate encounter, particularly because Indian authorities had presented the operation as a major counterterrorism success and Pakistan is now publicly challenging the identity of the slain militant.

For now, India says a senior LeT commander named Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Musa was killed in the Budgam operation, while Pakistan has presented a retired SSG soldier named Mohammad Asif who says he is alive. Independent confirmation establishing whether the two men are the same person remains unavailable in the public reporting reviewed for this report.