Pakistan Accuses India of Terrorism Amid Controversial Claims
Pakistan has repeatedly alleged that India is involved in terrorist activities within its borders. On April 29, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) for Pakistan, held a press conference where he publicly accused India of orchestrating these attacks. This assertion was echoed on April 30 by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, who encouraged independent experts to analyze and validate these allegations. In response, Digital Lab Voyager Infosec collaborated with ISPRMonitor to conduct an extensive digital investigation aimed at assessing the “irrefutable evidence” referenced by Dar. The findings of this investigation suggested that the claims made by Pakistan are unfounded and fabricated.
Investigative Findings: A Web of Deceit
The investigation revealed a troubling level of forgery and misinformation. “What we discovered was not evidence, but an overwhelming collection of falsifications and invented narratives. From altered screenshots to discrepancies in timelines, the entire story disintegrates under examination, exposing a shocking degree of fabrication, technical ineptitude, and propaganda manipulation by Pakistan’s military public relations unit,” stated the report.
Digital Forensics or Digital Deception?
Critical to any digital forensic process is the preservation of data integrity, typically achieved through the use of cloned devices that are not active. However, the ISPR’s entire forensic investigation was conducted on a live phone equipped with dual SIMs, a blatant disregard for basic forensic protocols that should have invalidated their entire approach, according to the report.
Evidence of Fabrication
The report further highlighted discrepancies in a screenshot claimed to be from a terrorist’s seized phone, which indicated that an alleged handler was “online,” even while the phone was supposedly under the custody of Pakistani authorities. “One of the slides presented by DG ISPR, which was purportedly obtained through forensic means, includes a WhatsApp screenshot that shows the alleged handler ‘Shaknder’ as online, despite the phone being in custody and undergoing forensic examination,” the report explained. It emphasized that if the device was indeed seized, it should have been in airplane mode to ensure data integrity, as WhatsApp status updates necessitate an active internet connection—something that cannot occur in a controlled forensic setting.
Questionable Call Recordings
Additionally, the report criticized DG ISPR for presenting “recordings” of WhatsApp calls from over a year prior, which would only be feasible if the terrorist had installed call-recording malware—a highly improbable scenario—or if the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had implanted spyware beforehand. This raises serious implications, suggesting foreknowledge of the attacks without any preventative action.
Inconsistencies in Evidence
The investigation also pointed out that DG ISPR displayed WhatsApp chat screenshots where the timestamps were closely aligned with the messages, even though the suspect was arrested well after those dates. This raises the question of whether Pakistan expects the public to believe the terrorist was taking screenshots of his crimes in real time for future press kits. Such absurdity underscores the desperation and amateurish photo editing that went into the creation of this evidence.
Misleading Drone Evidence
Furthermore, the report investigated a drone image claimed to be recovered from the terrorist’s residence and found it to be a DJI model, manufactured in China, thereby contradicting the narrative that attempted to implicate India.
Financial Transactions Under Scrutiny
ISPR alleged that the Indian handler was cautious in sending small sums of PKR 10,000 to evade detection by the ISI. However, they later claimed he transferred PKR 195,000 in a single transaction to the supposed terrorist account. The investigation revealed that the screenshots showing money received notifications were captured just one minute after the transactions, despite the phone being seized and examined six months later. ISPR’s claims of extensive financial trails were further undermined when only a singular payment trail was presented. “This isn’t a genuine money trail—it’s a fictional narrative crafted from fabricated transaction records and conveniently timestamped screenshots,” the report stated, emphasizing a loss of credibility for ISPR.
Identity Confusion in Alleged Communications
The report also highlighted that the purported Indian operator spoke in a mix of Punjabi and Hindi, revealing inconsistencies in identity, as voice analysis indicated that the same individual did not record both segments.
Absence of Concrete Evidence
While ISPR claimed to possess the names of serving Indian Army officers, they failed to provide any verifiable Indian phone numbers, call metadata, ISP logs, or any contact trails that would substantiate communication with India, as uncovered by the investigation.
A Failed Disinformation Strategy
The report suggested that even the press conference itself was a poorly executed attempt at disinformation. “The theatrics of the presentation, the focus on ‘Baluchistan,’ and selective media screenshots all point to a disinformation strategy fraught with glaring errors,” it observed.
A History of Forgery
Taking a jab at Ishaq Dar, the report noted that this is not his first encounter with dubious document production. “As a senior member of the PML-N, a party known for its history of forgery, Dar was involved in one of the most embarrassing frauds in recent South Asian history: the Calibri font scandal,” stated Digital Lab Voyager Infosec.
Contradictory Social Media Claims
ISPR alleged that Indian agencies orchestrated a coordinated social media campaign to distract from the detection of a drone and IED by Pakistani forces. However, the report noted that the screenshot of a tweet presented by ISPR was captured just 58 minutes after it was posted, raising further questions about the authenticity of their claims. The timeline of events suggested that ISPR had premeditated this narrative, questioning the integrity of their evidence.
Conclusion: A Staged Conspiracy Uncovered
Digital Lab Voyager Infosec concluded that “ISPR didn’t uncover a conspiracy. They staged and rehearsed one.” The investigation claimed that ISPR had fabricated propaganda weeks in advance to create a false narrative. “This press conference by DG ISPR signifies a new low in Pakistan’s lengthy history of information warfare. The so-called evidence was riddled with technical, logical, and narrative flaws, revealing an intelligence establishment out of touch with operational realities and global scrutiny.” The report condemned ISPR for producing “forged screenshots, dubious audio, inconsistent messaging, and laughable theatrics that fall far short of being credible evidence.”
