Farooq Ahmed still angrily angry when he talks about his brother’s death.
Mohammad Iqbal, a resident of Puenchi, Indiana, died on May 7 in a cross-border shelling, a series of air strikes and Pakistani attacks in India and retaliated in Kashmir, Pakistan to carry out radical attacks on the town of PAHALGAM, killing 26 people. Pakistan denies any role in the attack.
Ahmed said Iqbal died in his work for more than two decades – a religious center focused on Islamic teachings on Zia-ul-Uloom, Madrassa or Poonch.
But it turns out that his death was just the beginning of family troubles.
As the news spread, several media outlets were wrongly accused of Iqbal as a terrorist, and police subsequently issued a statement dismissing the claim.
“My brother is a teacher, but they saw his beard and skull and branded him with a terrorist mark,” Ahmed said.
“It’s like letting salt rub against our wounds. We lost Iqbal and the media slandered him. The dead can’t defend themselves.”
Indian officials said a total of 16 people were killed in cross-border artillery bombardment in the four-day military conflict between India and Pakistan following the air strike.
However, Pakistan claims 40 civilian deaths, and it is not clear how many of them are caused directly by shelling.
Both nuclear-weapon states have had tense relationships over decades, as both have managed the Himalayan region of Kashmir to some extent, but he claims it is comprehensive.
They have fought three wars in Kashmir since independence from Britain in 1947 and have returned from the brink of another match earlier this month.
Iqbal [Farooq Ahmed]
But as the military conflict escalates, another battle on social media – a war of false propaganda of claims and counterclaims and counterclaims are distributed online and on TV.
Like rumors about Iqbal’s identity, other misleading and incorrect information has also found some mainstream news channels and websites.
These include claims such as India’s destruction of Karachi ports in Pakistan, which were later exposed by the Indian government.
Some other fabrications are hard to spot, such as an AI-generated video in which a Pakistani general claimed that his country lost two aircraft in the fight.
“The scale of misinformation and nothing wrong assertions played by media is shocking,” said Manisha Pande, executive editor of independent news platform Newslaundry.
She noted that while there was a degree of sensation expected as the channel competes for its audience, the conflicting “magazine and irresponsible reporting” was unprecedented in its intensity – unlike anything she had seen before.
No one knows this better than Mr. Ahmed.
“I don’t know where the news channel gets information about my brother,” Ahmed said.
“Who do they talk to? What kind of evidence do they have to show that my brother is a terrorist?” he asked.
Iqbal’s house in Poonch City – he is the only income for his family [Farooq Ahmed]
A few weeks later, the family is still rolling up in the tragedy.
Mr. Ahmed said that on May 7, his brother left his home to Madrasa as usual, but it was his body that returned home. By noon, they buried him in a nearby cemetery.
For some time, the family has not known about the misinformation that some news media are sharing. They were busy performing Iqbal’s final ceremony.
Just a few hours later, a relative received a WhatsApp’s forward – a video clip from a famous news channel claimed that Indian troops killed a terrorist and that the photos of Iqbal flashed on the screen.
“We were shocked. Soon, we started getting calls from people asking us what happened and why the media called Iqbal a terrorist.”
The claim is shared by a number of prominent channels, including Zee News, ABP and News18. The BBC has contacted the channel for comment.
One channel claims that Iqbal was killed in a “Indian strike” in Kashmir, a Pakistan-run Kashmir, a terrorist from Pakistan’s terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
“Our family members have lived in Ponchi for generations. How can they say my brother lives in Pakistan? [the media] It should be ashamed,” Mr. Ahmed said.
India launches a series of air strikes against Pakistan on May 7 [Getty Images]
The allegations against Iqbal were so widespread and quickly that on May 8, Ponshi police issued a statement clarifying that Iqbal died in a cross-border shelling in Madrasa.
“Ponsch police strongly refuted this false narrative. The deceased, Maulana Mohd Iqbal, is a respected religious figure in the local community and has no affiliation with any horror costumes,” the statement said.
But for Mr. Ahmed, it was too late.
“By then, false claims will have attracted millions of people in India,” he said.
He added that there was no other person publicly apologizing to him or their audiences except for one Channel News 18.
Mr Ahmed said he wanted to take legal action against the channels, but the process had to wait as his family struggled to make ends meet.
Iqbal’s two wives and eight children survived. He is the only member of his family who makes money.
Mr Ahmed said the government’s compensation was several million rupees and could only last for one or two years and they must now start planning for the future.
“The whole family depends on my brother. He is a quiet and gentle person who loves to teach children,” Ahmed said.
“But who will tell the world? For many, my brother is still a terrorist and their killing is justified. How will they understand our pain?”
Other reports by Auqib Javeed in Srinagar in Kashmir managed in India
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