Karachi:
Between the night of 6th and 7th of May, India thought it had almost pulled it off – if only a moment. After more than two weeks of druming up war hysteria through its media, New Delhi was due to deliver a dose of catharsis to his public over Pahaldam.
With a title right out of Bollywood, India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ and fired missiles in several cities in Pakistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir. At least 31 civilians were martyrated and many more wounded.
Something about these back-to-back confirmations seemed to click something in the psyche from the modi government and its media minions. The last two weeks have already marked the most increased tensions between the two nations for decades. But what unfolded last night crossed the boundary of the comic surrealistic.
It began as innocent as everything that can in an atmosphere thick with information war. After a news briefing of DG Ispr lt Gen Ahmed Sharif-Where He said Pakistan had successfully shot dozens of Israeli made drones launched by India over several cities began several Indian social media accounts to circulate a depths fighter jets for Indian air defense.
But although questionable handling of error information has long been a hallmark of cross-border conflict in the digital age, at least one Indian TV channel took it a step further and framed the doctoral footage as an authentic statement from the Pakistani chief military spokesman.
Based on this foreplay, Indian media launched another Salvo and claimed that Indian air defense had shot a Pakistani F-16 over the Indian airspace and caught his pilot. Blue-Ticked Indian media personalities hyped up “exclusives” that were never realized, while fringe accounts with a little credibility circulated an unclear, undepressed image they swore showed the ‘pilot’ in custody.
As both allegations were revealed in the absence of evidence, reports emerged that India had introduced an Internet blackout in Indian-managed Kashmir along with a sweeping ban on social media accounts seen as puncturing its narrative. Platform X announced that India had ordered it to block over 8,000 accounts it said it reluctantly complied with, and described them as government-charged “censorship.” Meanwhile, India’s Defense Ministry issued an advisor who directed media and users of social media to refrain from sending live coverage of defense operations or movement of security forces. Unconfirmed reports also suggested that Indian officials were directed to avoid interacting with Western media.
With Echo Chamber firmly sealed, Indian news channels went overdoing with their Hindutva fantasies about Pakistan.
Anchors and panel lists on Times Now, in full nationalist ecstasy, declared that the Indian army had stormed across the border and captured Lahore. Major Gaurav Arya – channeling the energy of a game show – host rather than a defense analyst – pleaded in the air of the Indian navy to “jump into the crisis.”
If the marine missed Gauravs Memo, Zee News certainly didn’t. Its anchor argued breathlessly that the Indian navy had destroyed the Karachi port with “over ten blasts”, announcing that “nothing was left” in Pakistan. “Reports come in – there is a major explosion in Peshawar,” a panelist chimed in as they painted a surreal image of Pakistan dismantled, city for city, under merciless Indian fire. “Their soldiers leave one by one – their generals flee from the country,” another added.
Aaj Thanks, as if trying to surpass Zee News, raised the effort further. Several blasts had reduced the entire Peshawar to dust, declared the anchor. “Terrorist news comes in from different cities in Pakistan,” she added, and her voice rose over a background score of war sirens – as if she was telling the trailer to an epic war movie and did not present a news bun.
TV9 Bharatvarsh decided to go better. “Add Quetta … Quetta to this!” Exclaimed an anchor and sounded more like he were issuing a hectic plea than reading the news. “In the area that is Quetta, Baloch has attacked!” He declared before marking ‘strategic points’, where Indian forces allegedly caused ‘greater destruction’ on a glowing card behind him.
Over on Republic World, Arnab Goswami claimed that a massive explosion had been heard outside Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s “residence” when Indian forces turned to Islamabad.
Zee News, not to be surpassed, reported that Pakistan’s army chief General Asim Munir had been arrested in a Kupp-Men’s Pakistan Tehreek-In-Insaf allegedly led mass protests against PM Shehbaz.
Even Barkha Dutt – once a respected figure in Indian journalism – joined the madness. “Breaking – Our fleet has targeted the Karachi Harbor – as part of the massive ongoing retaliation in response to Pakistan missiles and drones targeting several places in India, including Jammu Airport,” she released X, linking to her broadcast. She had previously also shared posts about the supposed ‘catch’ of a Pakistani pilot.
And then the night went on.
