Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, May 11: In a startling admission amid escalating tensions, a senior official from Pakistan’s military establishment has acknowledged the country’s direct involvement in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, which killed 40 Indian paramilitary personnel.
The declaration, made during a press briefing attended by international media, marks a dramatic reversal from Pakistan’s years-long denial.
Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed, director general public relations for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), described the Pulwama attack as “a tactical brilliance” orchestrated by Pakistan’s military. His comment came during a press conference on Friday, flanked by director general ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry and a Navy spokesperson.
“We tried to tell them with our tactical brilliance in Pulwama...,” Aurangzeb stated, breaking years of official silence and denials regarding Pakistan’s involvement. The admission also appeared to cast doubt on Pakistan’s position concerning the more recent Pahalgam attack on April 22, where Islamabad had again claimed innocence and demanded evidence from India.
“If Pakistan’s airspace, land, waters, or its people are threatened, there can be no compromise. It cannot go unnoticed. We owe it to our nation. The pride and trust the Pakistani people have in their armed forces is something we always uphold, at all costs. We tried to convey that through our tactical brilliance in Pulwama; now, we have demonstrated our operational progress and strategic acumen. I believe they should take heed,” Ahmed continued, his words drawing immediate international attention.
Observers noted the uneasy expression of the Navy spokesperson as Ahmed invoked Pulwama, suggesting discomfort within even the broader military audience present.
Lt Gen Chaudhry, who stood beside Ahmed during the statement, is himself the son of controversial nuclear scientist Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood. Mahmood has been previously linked to al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden and is listed by the UN Security Council’s al-Qaida Sanctions Committee for attempting to transfer nuclear technology to terrorists.
Pakistan had consistently denied involvement in the Pulwama attack since it occurred on February 14, 2019, when a suicide bomber from the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) drove an explosive-laden vehicle into a CRPF convoy. Then prime minister Imran Khan labelled the incident a “matter of grave concern” but firmly rejected any involvement by the Pakistani military.
India had presented a dossier containing evidence of JeM’s role, linking attacker Adil Ahmad Dar to the group’s Subhan Allah camp in Bahawalpur. Following the attack, Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 jets conducted airstrikes on a JeM terror camp in Balakot, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, targeting what was believed to be JeM’s largest training base.
The retaliation sparked a tense standoff and led to an aerial dogfight between the two countries’ air forces, during which Indian Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured and later released by Pakistan.
While Ahmed’s admission represents a rare moment of public military candour, it is not entirely unprecedented. In October 2020, Pakistan’s then Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry made similar remarks in Parliament, saying: “Humne Hindustan ko ghus ke maara (We hit India in their home). Our success in Pulwama is a success for this nation under the leadership of Imran Khan. You and us are all part of that success.”
However, the significance of Ahmed’s statement lies in its source—the military hierarchy, long considered the true power centre in Pakistan, overshadowing the civilian government based in Islamabad.
Though the Pakistani government has never formally accepted culpability for the Pulwama incident, Aurangzeb’s declaration before the global press has pierced through years of diplomatic obfuscation and brought a renewed spotlight on Pakistan’s internal civil-military dynamics and its role in cross-border terrorism.