Minister of State for Home Affairs Talal Chaudhry speaks to journalists outside Parliament in Islamabad on October 9, 2025. Screenshot
ISLAMABAD:
Minister of State for Home Affairs Talal Chaudhry revealed on Saturday that India’s intelligence agency had tried to recruit a Pakistani fisherman for espionage by offering him money.
Addressing a joint press conference in Islamabad along with Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar, Chaudhry said the incident was “India’s new propaganda operation, which has now been completely exposed.”
He said the fisherman, identified as Ijaz Mallah, had been detained by the Indian Coast Guard in September and was subsequently coerced and bribed with Rs 95,000 to engage in anti-Pakistan propaganda.
“This is part of an ongoing psychological and information war being waged by Indian intelligence agencies against Pakistan,” he said, adding that the country’s security institutions remain vigilant to counter such attempts.
Chaudhry credited Pakistan’s media and security institutions for “ensuring the triumph of truth in this information war” and praised their responsible reporting against what he called “yellow propaganda.”
He drew parallels between the failed Operation Sindoor and the current propaganda campaign, describing them as repeated attempts by India to “erase the humiliation of past failures”.
“After the failure of Operation Sindoor, and even in sports stadiums, efforts have continued to create false narratives, from fabricated operations to fake encounters. But all such attempts have been exposed,” he said.
The minister added that evidence of financial transactions and communications between the Indian intermediaries and Mallah had been recovered. He said fake media credentials, uniforms and documents were also used to mask the operation under apparently credible identities.
He stressed that Pakistan was a responsible state and said, “Pakistan respects the sovereignty of other nations and ensures that its soil is not used against anyone. We expect the same in return.”
He urged the international community and independent media to review the evidence and recognize the operation for what it was, “a desperate attempt to build a false narrative ahead of the elections and amid rising political tensions in India.”
“Just like in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, the truth is once again before the world. India has been caught red-handed,” Chaudhry added.
