The morning after India conducted a series of airstrikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir in response to a terrorist attack in the town of Pahalgam that killed 26 people, Mohammad Iqbal, a local of Poonch city in Indian-administered Kashmir, was murdered by cross-border firing on May 7. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the assault.
According to Mr. Ahmed, Iqbal passed away at Zia-ul-Uloom, a madrassa—a place of worship centered on Islamic teachings—in Poonch, where he had served for more than 20 years. However, it turned out that the family’s problems had only begun after he passed away.
As word got out, Iqbal was falsely accused of being a terrorist by a number of media outlets. The police then issued a statement denying the accusation.
“My brother was a teacher, but they saw his beard and skullcap and branded him a terrorist,”
Mr. Ahmed recalls. “It felt like salt being applied to our injuries. Iqbal was defamed by the media after we had lost him. The deceased are incapable of self-defense.
What role did sensationalism play in misinformation spread?
A misinformation war of allegations and counterclaims that went viral on TV and the internet erupted on social media as the military combat intensified. Similar to rumors over Iqbal’s identity, additional false and misleading material also made its way into various websites and mainstream news networks.
Among these were allegations that India had devastated Pakistan’s Karachi port, which the Indian government subsequently refuted. Other fakes, such as an AI-generated video of a Pakistani army officer asserting that his nation had lost two planes in battle, were more difficult to identify.
It was startling how much false information and unsupported claims were being spread by the media. As networks strive for viewers, some sensationalism is to be anticipated. The overly nationalistic and reckless reporting of the conflict was unmatched in its intensity.
How did Iqbal’s family react to false accusations?
The family is still in shock from the incident weeks later. According to Mr. Ahmed, his brother left the house for the madrassa on May 7th in the morning as usual, but his body was the one that came home. They buried him at a local cemetery around midday.
The family was unaware of the false information spread by some news sources for a while. They were occupied with Iqbal’s last ceremonies. A few hours later, a relative got a WhatsApp forward that showed Iqbal’s picture flashing on the screen, along with a video clip from a well-known news station asserting that the Indian army had killed a terrorist.
“We were taken aback. We soon started receiving additional calls from people who wanted to know what was happening and why Iqbal was being referred to as a terrorist by the media,”
Mr. Ahmed adds. Several well-known networks, including Zee News, ABP, and News18, shared the allegation. The channels have been contacted by the BBC for comment.
According to one broadcaster, Iqbal was a member of the Pakistan-based terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba and was killed in an “Indian strike on a terrorist camp” in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
“For many centuries, our family has resided in Poonch. How do they claim that my brother lived in Pakistan? Mr. Ahmed argues,
“They [the media] ought to feel embarrassed.”
Iqbal’s death from cross-border shelling at the madrasa was clarified in a statement released by the Poonch police on May 8 after the charge against him spread so quickly and extensively.
“Poonch Police vehemently disputes these untrue claims. The statement said that any media outlet or anyone who spread the false information would face legal repercussions.
“The dead, Maulana Mohd Iqbal, was a respected spiritual figure in the local residents and had no association with any terror company,”
the statement stated.
