Government Fact-Checks Pak Propaganda Amid Soaring Tensions Over Pahalgam
New Delhi:
A wave of misinformation has flooded social media as Pakistan tries to push its propaganda online in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. One such misinformation pertains to Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar, the commander of the Northern Army.
The government has found that several pro-Pakistan social media accounts have been “falsely claiming” that Lt Gen Kumar was removed from his post following the Pahalgam attack. Some reports even claimed Lt Gen Kumar was arrested or taken into custody for security lapses.
All these reports have been flagged as “false” by the Press Information Bureau’s fact-checking arm.
“Several pro-Pakistan social media accounts falsely claim that Northern Commander Lt Gen Suchindra Kumar has been removed from his post after the Pahalgam incident. The claims being made in these posts are fake,” said the government.
The government said Lt Gen Kumar is retiring on April 30. Lt Gen Pratik Sharma will be appointed as the Northern Army Commander after Lt Gen Kumar’s superannuation, the PIB Fact-Check said.
Yesterday, claims of an Indian Rafale fighter jet being shot down by Pakistan along the LoC were flagged as “false” by the government. Pakistan Army has not shot down any Indian fighter jet, the government had asserted.
On Monday, the government marked some documents being circulated online as “fake” amid claims that they were leaked information on the preparedness of the Indian Army.
The online propaganda appears to be part of Pakistan’s efforts to control the narrative war as it faces the serious charge of driving global terrorism.
Tensions have soared between the two countries as terror links to Islamabad emerged in the massacre of 26 civilians in Pahalgam on April 22. The terrorists who carried out the attack were said to be under the control of Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the 26/11 attack and the chief of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group.
Since the terror attack, Pakistan has been violating ceasefires across the Line of Control with unprovoked firings at Indian Army posts. In a major escalation, their troops fired at the International Border last night. Indian soldiers guarding the border and the LoC responded effectively to all ceasefire violations.
Not just Pakistan’s Army, but even politicians and ministers have been making provocative statements. The latest was Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar claiming that India is planning a “military action” in the next 24-36 hours.
Sources suggest that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a free hand to the Indian armed forces to decide the target and timing of their response to the Pahalgam attack.
