DG ISPR calls India biggest sponsor of terrorism in Pakistan

The director general of Inter-Services Public Relations has said India is the biggest sponsor of terrorism in Pakistan, a remark carried by two Pakistani news outlets.

Hum News English and 24 News HD published the statement under near-identical headlines. Both attributed the claim to the DG ISPR. Neither report, in the form available, named the officer, gave the venue of his remarks or said when he made them.

The DG ISPR heads the military's media wing, the office that issues the Pakistan Army's public statements on security operations, casualties and accusations against foreign governments. Its briefings and statements are read by other institutions as the army's stated position.

The two outlets' wording matched closely. 24 News HD used the sentence "India biggest sponsor of terrorism in Pakistan, says DG ISPR" as its headline and repeated it in its standfirst. Hum News English led with the same claim in reported speech, crediting the DG ISPR.

This desk could not obtain the full text of the remarks and could not independently confirm where and when they were delivered. It was not clear from either report whether the statement came at a media briefing, in an interview or in a written post by the ISPR.

Neither report identified a specific incident, operation or attack that prompted the statement. No response from the Indian government, and no comment from Pakistan's Foreign Office, appeared in the material available.

The claim is an allegation against a foreign state, and the reports as published carried no supporting material beyond the attribution to the DG ISPR. Skardu Times has not independently verified it.