Ever since the Pahalgam attack and subsequent retaliation from India during Operation Sindoor, Pakistan has been heavily pushing propaganda material on social media to spread rumours and misinformation. Now Islamabad has gone a step further to convince itself that the recent conflict with New Delhi was a military success, with Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir posing with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with an edited image of a Chinese drill that was passed off as a Pakistani military operation photo.
The photo was gifted during a dinner hosted by General Munir on May 24, a day after he was appointed as the Field Marshal. It was attended by Pakistan's top political and military brass, including President Asif Ali Zardari, PM Shehbaz and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. Others included the senate chairman, national assembly speaker, federal ministers, governors, chief ministers, air chief and naval chief.
The framed image was taken from an four-year-old photo from a Chinese drill. Netizens were quick to call out Islamabad for trying to pass off a Chinese military exercise image from 2019 as a Pakistan's Operation Bunyan against India. The original image shows PHL-03 multiple rocket launchers in action during the 2019 drill.
The comedian Asim Munir of Pakistan gifting painting of Operation Bunyan Al Marsus to another comedian PM Shahbaz Sharif during a dinner. It’s actually a 2019 photo from a Chinese military exercise. 😛
— Rathan Ramesh Poojary (RRP)🇮🇳 (@RathanRameshRR1) May 25, 2025
Should we call it a country? #OperationSindoor pic.twitter.com/ZV09voIcUs
One user wondered why the Pakistani army cannot even produce original visual of its own military operation. Another user wrote, “Not just a fake victory narrative, but also a fake photo with it. What a joke @OfficialDGISPR."
Earlier, state-backed media published video game screenshots and war documentary footage, claiming they are from Pakistani military operation.
During Operation Sindoor, several pro-Pakistani social media handles alleged that Delhi airport was struck in a missile attack. PIB Fact Check team later clarified that the claims were false and the video was actually of a gas station explosion in Yemen's Aden from August 2024.
PIB Fact Check debunked several other rumours spread by Pakistan with the hashtag India Fights Propaganda. Another post claimed that Bathinda Airfield was destroyed in Pakistani attack. However, PIB clarified that the airfield was fully operational and there was no damage to any infrastructure.
