Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has criticised India over its decision to award Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistan in 2019, with a military honour.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Lt Gen Chaudhry described India as having become a “fakeistan” and an “encounteristan”, while criticising what he characterised as the country’s handling of military and security matters.
Referring to Abhinandan, the DG ISPR questioned why India would confer a military award on a pilot whose aircraft Pakistan said it had shot down during the 2019 India-Pakistan confrontation.
He also questioned India’s military narrative surrounding the 2025 conflict, saying that its claims regarding the downing of Pakistani aircraft were raised months after the events.
“Unfortunately, we have been dealing with a low-grade enemy,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said, according to his remarks reported during the press conference.
He further claimed that India’s narrative was based on what he described as an “imaginary world” and criticised the country’s military and political claims.
The remarks came during a press briefing in Rawalpindi in which the DG ISPR also addressed recent Indian claims regarding the alleged killing of a former Pakistan Army soldier in Indian-administered Kashmir. He presented retired Havildar Muhammad Asif before the media, saying the Indian claim that he had been killed was false.
