Overview

• An Al Jazeera journalist interrupted former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar’s July 8 interview to highlight that Pakistan’s military never labelled the funeral image as fake.
• The CNIC number (35202-5400413-9) and March 25, 1973 birthdate released by the ISPR match those of US-sanctioned Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Hafiz Abdur Rauf.
• DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry detailed the same identity records at a May press conference while asserting the man was a welfare wing official, not disputing the data match.
• India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has deployed the funeral photograph and matching ID in diplomatic briefings to allege Pakistan’s tacit support for proscribed militants.
• The episode illustrates a larger post-Operation Sindoor information battle as journalistic fact-checks and sanctions data challenge Pakistan’s narrative control.