DG ISPR presents ex-SSG soldier India said it killed in Kashmir: 'Here is that superman'

DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry presented a retired Pakistan Army soldier, Mohammad Asif, alive before the media in Islamabad on Thursday 1 October 2026, a day after Indian media and the Indian Army said a man of that name had been killed in an "encounter" in occupied Kashmir. The DG ISPR called the Indian claim a "false flag" and told reporters: "Here is that superman. You can see this superman."

What India claimed

On 29 and 30 September, Indian media, citing the Indian Army's Chinar Corps, reported that a militant killed in the Korag area of Yousmarg in occupied Kashmir was Mohammad Asif, described as a Lashkar-e-Taiba member, a trained Pakistan Army SSG commando and a man wanted for the April 2025 Pahalgam attack, with links to other attacks between 2023 and 2025, Dawn reported.

What the DG ISPR showed

According to the ISPR account reported by Dawn, Geo and Business Recorder:

• Mohammad Asif joined the Pakistan Army in 2000 and the Special Services Group in 2005.
• He retired in 2023 as a havildar after 18 years with the SSG.
• He now lives with his family in Rawalpindi, and appeared at the press conference in person.

Lt Gen Chaudhry asked "why the need for all this drama" and set out what he said were the reasons behind such claims, including deflecting attention from India's alleged backing of militant groups such as the TTP and BLA, and from the situation in occupied Kashmir, where he said around one million Indian military and security personnel are deployed. He also linked militant attacks in Pakistan to Afghan soil and accused Indian media of spreading misinformation.

We will add any response from New Delhi to this page.

Why it matters

• The Pahalgam link. Indian claims tying Pakistan to the April 2025 attack were at the centre of the May 2025 hostilities between the two countries, so a claim naming a former SSG soldier carried weight on both sides of the border.
• Information war. Thursday's press conference was a direct, public rebuttal with the named man present, which is unusual. It was among the most-searched news stories in Pakistan on Thursday afternoon, according to Google Trends.
• The cricket backdrop. It comes two days before Pakistan play India in the Asian Games cricket final on Saturday at 10am PKT (schedule and how to watch).

Earlier this month ISPR also briefed on operations in Balochistan and the Makkah defence pact with Saudi Arabia.