New Delhi: Former Pakistani foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar has pushed back against India’s claims that Pakistani army officials are linked to designated terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Khar responded to the viral image showing Hafiz Abdur Rauf leading a funeral allegedly attended by top military brass. She dismissed the identification and said, “There are a million Abdur Raufs in Pakistan.”
Have a look at her statement here:
Pakistan Denies Link, Claims Mistaken Identity
The Pakistani military, through DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, denied that the man in the photograph is a terrorist, calling him “a common family man” and a welfare wing official of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League. The CNIC presented by the army matched the identity and birthdate listed by the US Treasury for Hafiz Abdur Rauf, raising serious questions.
When confronted with this match, Khar said, “You can carry an image… I am telling you with authority… that this is not the man that you are claiming it to be.”
The Viral Image
The image in question shows Hafiz Abdur Rauf, a US-sanctioned global terrorist, leading funeral prayers for militants killed during India’s Operation Sindoor airstrikes in Muridke on May 8.
In the picture, senior Pakistani army officers, including Lt Gen Fayyaz Hussain Shah and Punjab’s police chief Dr Usman Anwar, were also seen in attendance. Coffins draped in the national flag and the presence of military protocol strongly contradicted Pakistan’s claims that only civilians died in the airstrikes.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri cited the image at a press briefing, saying, “We have made the point very clearly that all attacks on the morning of 7th May were against carefully selected terrorist infrastructure.”
Despite the denials, the CNIC number (35202-5400413-9) released by Pakistan aligns exactly with the US global terrorist list, deepening suspicions of official complicity from the nation.