‘India is scared of me’: Pahalgam terror kingpin boasts of Pakistan Army links

A senior Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader and the alleged mastermind of the Pahalgam terror attack has openly acknowledged his close relationship with the Pakistan Army, in a stunning public admission that shatters Islamabad’s long-standing denials of backing terrorist groups.

Saifullah Kasuri, deputy chief of the Hafiz Saeed-led LeT, claimed that the Pakistani military regularly invites him to its functions — including to lead funeral prayers for fallen soldiers — while he was addressing schoolchildren at a public event in Pakistan. In an undated video that has now surfaced, Kasuri also issued brazen threats against India and boasted of his growing notoriety.

“The Pakistan Army sends me invitations… The Pakistan Army calls me to lead the funeral prayers of its soldiers,” Kasuri told the gathering, offering a rare and explicit glimpse into the nexus between Pakistan’s military establishment and a globally designated terror outfit.

The remarks directly contradict Pakistan’s repeated assurances to the international community that it has dismantled terrorist networks operating from its soil. Instead, Kasuri’s statements lay bare what India has long maintained — a deep, institutionalised collaboration between Pakistan’s army and jihadist groups targeting Kashmir.

In the same address, Kasuri taunted New Delhi, claiming his very presence unsettled India. “Do you know India is scared of me?” he said, even as he doubled down on LeT’s violent agenda in Kashmir.

Kasuri has also acknowledged the impact of India’s Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, which struck terror infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. But instead of expressing remorse, the LeT leader turned defiant.

“India made a big mistake in Operation Sindoor by targeting only terrorist hideouts,” he said in another video, while reaffirming that his group would “never back down from the Kashmir mission”.

At a separate rally in Kasur, Punjab, Kasuri even revelled in his infamy. “I was blamed for being the mastermind of the Pahalgam terror attack — now my name is famous in the entire world,” he declared to cheering supporters.

Operation Sindoor marked one of India’s most forceful military responses in years, triggering four days of intense drone and missile exchanges between India and Pakistan before the two sides reached an understanding on May 10 to halt hostilities.

Kasuri’s unguarded boasts now threaten to undo Pakistan’s diplomatic narrative — exposing not just the survival of terror networks, but their continued patronage at the highest levels of the state.