Mass hysteria as Indian media relentlessly covers imaginary war in Pakistan

shafali

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Bemused Pakistanis were perplexed by mainstream Indian media reports that a ‘civil war’ between the army and local police had broken out in the country’s commercial capital of Karachi.
A civil war has broken out in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi - that is if some sections of the Indian media are to be believed.

For the rest of the world, including millions of confused Pakistanis, life in the country’s commercial capital seems pretty much normal.

Major TV and online outlets including Times Now, Zee News, theprint.in and India.com, have been reporting a ‘civil-war like situation’ in which local police forces battled Army battalions trying to overthrow the provincial government of Sindh, where Karachi is located.

Of course, no such thing is happening.

There has been some consternation at the army’s decision to briefly detain Sindh’s police chief Mushtaq Mehar in order to pressure him into arresting Mohammad Safdar, the son-in-law of fugitive former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Safdar’s arrest took place after large but event free protests against the administration of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

To voice their frustration at the arrest of Mehar, a number of police officers applied for leave on the same dates. The anger has been somewhat assuaged by Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s announcement of an inquiry into the behaviour of his officers.

A political scandal perhaps and another episode shedding light on the complex role Pakistan’s army plays in civilian politics but a far cry from the ‘civil war like situation’ being reported by Indian media outlets, some of which reported gun battles, violent protests, and deaths.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1318941353837985792
The reports have since been seized upon by the far-right Indian Twittersphere, which has added its own embellishments to the developing (and imaginary) situation.

According to verified Indian ultranationalist Prashant Patel Umrao, police in Sindh were demanding independence from the central government in Islamabad and that “many officers are died (sic).”

Umrao’s assertions were completely unsubstantiated, but nevertheless left untouched on Twitter, where they have been retweeted thousands of times.

Pakistani Twitter hits back

Bemused Pakistanis were quick to respond to the false reports after a presumably short glance outside the window confirmed there was no ongoing civil war in their biggest city.

On Twitter, those living in Karachi shared tongue-in-cheek images of the purported clashes, with many either photoshopped or taken from TV shows popular in the country.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1318911615471857670
In one, an image of a submarine at the Pakistan Maritime Museum was shared with the explanation that Pakistan’s military had deployed the vessel to combat Sindhi police officers and children, who had taken “control of anti-aircraft guns”.

In another video, an apparent military helicopter hovering over the streets of Karachi is revealed to be a remote-controlled toy.

Scenes from the hit Turkish drama Ertugrul also appeared on Twitter, with battle scenes from the show set in medieval Anatolia purporting to be of clashes between the Pakistani army and police.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1318965992916197383
The satire contained in such facetious posts proved too much to grasp for some on the Indian far-right, who unironically shared images of a Pakistani soldier named Shafiqudin Siddiqui, who reportedly died in the clashes. The image turned out to be one of a music video made by Pakistani TV host and politician, Aamir Liaquat Hussain.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1318938624356978690
A track record of fake news

While media inaccuracy is hardly an Indian phenomenon, over the past decade some Indian news outlets have developed a reputation for sensationalism, jingoism, and fabrication.

One instance of perhaps all three in action was during the aftermath of the 2019 strike on the Pakistani village of Balakot after a devastating suicide bomb attack on soldiers in Indian-administered Kashmir.

India claimed it had destroyed terrorist training camps in the region, and grainy footage purported to be of the strike were widely published and celebrated among Indian journalists.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1319084379038117888
More unsubstantiated claims followed the downing of an Indian fighter plane by the Pakistani armed forces. In what was likely a face-saving measure, claims appeared in Indian outlets that a Pakistani F-16 was shot down.

The Indian media widely disseminated ‘proof’ of the allegedly destroyed plane, which turned out to be the wreckage of one of its own aircraft that crashed during non-combat operations.

No additional proof has ever been provided

https://twitter.com/x/status/1318913199744471040%D8%8E

 
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Raiwind-Destroyer

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
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MianJi

MPA (400+ posts)
It is quite apparent by now that the PDM and Indian intelligence have been cooperating on the plot to internally destabilize Pakistan. This latest episode of the arrest of Safdar was a key ingredient in trying to conjur up a civil war type situation in Pakistan.

Unfortunately for the planners, and fortunately for Pakistan, the actors on this side of the border lost the script while the Indian media continued with their coverage of what was supposed to be the next scene. Thankfully, PPP seems to have goofed up their whole program for now. The jury, however, is still out on whether this was by design, i.e., to expose the rest of the PDM members, or just plain ineptitude on the part of the PPP. I am hoping it is the former and not the latter.
 

home!

Councller (250+ posts)
the culprit must be arrested. Whatever was the script or whoever was writer, doesn't matter. Justice must be prevail. Saddar violate the sanctity of Mazar i Quaid, he must be punished.
Pakistan problem is the system allow the evil to become and try to control it. From corruption, to economy, from TTP to PTM and from MQM to Nawaz Shaif. Kill the evil in the bud.
 

MianJi

MPA (400+ posts)
the culprit must be arrested. Whatever was the script or whoever was writer, doesn't matter. Justice must be prevail. Saddar violate the sanctity of Mazar i Quaid, he must be punished.
Pakistan problem is the system allow the evil to become and try to control it. From corruption, to economy, from TTP to PTM and from MQM to Nawaz Shaif. Kill the evil in the bud.


Agree that Safdar should be punished for his actions, but the way this arrest has been played up by PDM and the Indian media present on some so-called 'Pakistani channels' is alarming. Unless this nexus is uprooted, they will continue to use one excuse or the other to continue to foster discord among people and their institutions.
 

Imranpak

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Rapistan is far more close to a civil war then Pak is. Congress is hammering Modi over China having annexed Indian land.