Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri presented a photo during a press briefing on Thursday. It showed Pakistani Army soldiers attending the funeral of three terrorists. These men died during India’s recent military operation, Operation Sindoor. Misri questioned Pakistan’s claim by stating, "it's odd that the funerals of civilians are carried out with the coffins being draped in Pakistani flags and state honours being accorded."

India Responds to Pahalgam Attack

Earlier, on April 22, terrorists attacked Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir. This attack killed 26 civilians. In response, India launched military strikes on Wednesday. As part of Operation Sindoor, Indian forces targeted nine terror infrastructure sites in Pakistan.

At the press conference, Misri clarified that the Indian strikes were precise. He said, "all attacks on the morning of May 7 were against carefully selected terrorist infrastructure, terrorist targets." Furthermore, he added that post-strike images and funeral reports supported India’s claim.

He pointed out, "if only civilians, if any civilians were killed in these attacks, I wonder what message this picture actually sends to all of you." According to him, such funerals showed that Pakistan was honouring terrorists as state heroes.

Terrorists Buried with Full Honours in Pakistan

Meanwhile, reports confirmed the funeral took place in Muridke, which is around 40 kilometers from Lahore. Several Pakistani Army members were present. Moreover, members of Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), a banned group led by Hafiz Saeed, also attended.

Indian forces had specifically targeted a JuD facility in Muridke. That strike killed Qari Abdul Malik, Khalid, and Mudassir. As a result, the funeral was held under heavy security.

Additionally, Pakistani civil officials attended the funeral. Tabish Qayyum, a spokesperson for the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, confirmed this. Notably, this party is the political wing of JuD.

Hafiz Abdul Rauf led the funeral prayer. People prayed for national safety and security.

India Refutes Civilian Death Allegations

Although Pakistan claimed that civilians were killed, Misri dismissed this completely. He said the photo of the funeral told a different story. He remarked, "giving terrorists, state funerals, maybe a practice in Pakistan." Moreover, he added, "it doesn't seem to make much sense to us."

India Denies Attacking Religious Sites

In addition, Pakistan accused India of targeting religious places. Misri rejected this claim as well. He said, "this claim is completely false again." According to him, Indian forces only hit terror-related locations.

He explained further, "the targets were terrorist infrastructure, terrorist facilities, and locations connected clearly with incidents of cross-border terrorism into India." Finally, he said, "it is, in fact, Pakistan that is misusing religious sites as a cover to, in fact, radicalise, direct and indoctrinate and train terrorists."