Pak Minister Cites Fake News To Praise Air Force, Gets Fact-Checked

New Delhi:

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday used a fake picture of an article in the UK-based The Daily Telegraph to praise the country’s air force, only to be fact-checked by the local media.

Speaking in Parliament, Mr Dar, who is also the Foreign Minister, said that an article in the UK-based newspaper read: “Pakistan Air Force: The undisputed king of the skies”.

A screenshot of the image – a front-page story from May 10 – said “experts” described the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) as “feared, respected, and remarkably efficient”.

Pakistan’s newspaper, Dawn, however, did a fact-check and said the claim was false, citing “multiple discrepancies, including spelling mistakes, mistyped and jumped sentences and language inconsistencies” in the viral image.

“The image of the British newspaper is fake and no such article has been published by the outlet,” it said.

India’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) also called out the image and said the photograph had been altered or edited with AI (Artificial Intelligence).

The Daily Telegraph “has never carried any such article”, the government stressed.

An image circulating on social media claims to show the front page of UK-based newspaper The Daily Telegraph, featuring a headline that reads: “Pakistan Air Force: The undisputed king of the skies” dated 10th May 2025#PIBFactCheck

✔️This claim is #false

✔️The image being… pic.twitter.com/8hxskb5aM4

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 16, 2025

It also said the fake claim was “further amplified” by Mr Dar.

“By endorsing a completely fabricated image and headline, #Pakistan intentionally lent official weight to a piece of digital deception,” the PIB said.

This #fake claim was further amplified by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar during his statement to the Senate on 15 May 2025.

By endorsing a completely fabricated image and headline, #Pakistan intentionally lent official weight to a piece of digital deception.… pic.twitter.com/k2s8LT5YJh

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 16, 2025

Tensions between India and Pakistan have soared after “Operation Sindoor”, which was launched by the Indian armed forces on May 7 in response to the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam last month.

After finding cross-border links to the April 22 attack, which left 26 people dead, India launched ” Operation Sindoor” and destroyed multiple camps of terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen.

In response, the Pakistani Army launched drones and missiles at western parts of India, which were successfully intercepted. India then hit selected military targets deep inside Pakistani territory.

The two countries reached a ceasefire agreement on May 10 to halt military actions with immediate effect after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.