India’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Vikram Doraiswami, rekindled the age-old controversy of Pakistan’s state-sponsored terrorism by revealing irrefutable photographic evidence. In an interview with Sky News, Doraiswami held up a poster-sized photograph showing senior Pakistani military leaders alongside Hafiz Abdur Rauf—a sanctioned US terrorist and brother of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar—at the funeral of terrorists martyred during India’s Operation Sindoor.
“Let me show you this photograph from yesterday,” Doraiswami explained, holding up the photo. “I believe it is for your viewers. This person here is a sanctioned terrorist under the American sanctions regime. His name is Hafiz Abdur Rauf. He’s a brother of the founder of the terrorist group that you’re mentioning. Look who is behind him. Pakistani military. Look at the coffins there. They have the Pakistani national flag. If you’re going to be giving terrorists state funerals, what does that make of your system?”
.@SkyYaldaHakim highlights a report from Reuters which suggests Pakistan used a Chinese-made jet to bring down Indian fighter jets.
Listen to India’s High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami’s response to the claims ⬇️https://t.co/ycn98YBY36 pic.twitter.com/wi3dpBDpgK
— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 8, 2025
The photograph was also circulated in a press briefing in New Delhi, as India doubled down on its longstanding position that Pakistan’s military establishment not only harbours but officially supports terrorist outfits.
Context: India’s Retaliatory Strikes
The High Commissioner’s disclosure followed shortly after India conducted a series of airstrikes against nine terror infrastructure locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The precision attacks were a direct retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, which resulted in the deaths of 26 civilians on April 22.
One of the most important targets was the Jaish-e-Mohammed headquarters in Bahawalpur, a city in Pakistan’s Punjab province long identified by Indian intelligence as a hotbed of terrorist activity. The BJP even put out a social media graphic featuring Abdul Rauf Azhar—Masood Azhar’s brother—with the word “eliminated” stamped across his face.
Historical Pattern of Complicity
Abdul Rauf Azhar was no ordinary individual; his record is tainted with involvement in significant terror attacks. He masterminded the 1999 IC-814 hijacking, the 2001 Parliament attack, and the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack. During the Kandahar hijacking, India was forced to release Masood Azhar in return for 190 hostages—an action that highlighted the serious cost of Pakistan-backed terrorism.
Doraiswami also rejected Islamabad’s appeals for international probes by invoking previous incidents. He reminded how India had allowed Pakistani investigators into the Pathankot airbase following the 2016 attack, something Pakistan never did in return. He also invoked the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which had been handed over to Pakistan with copious evidence but never prosecuted by Pakistan to their full potential.
