Fact-check: India TV falsely labels AJK press freedom protest as anti-military demonstration
The protest was held outside the Legislative Assembly in Muzaffarabad, AJK, to demand the withdrawal of a police complaint against a local media outlet
Updated Thursday May 08 2025
An Indian news channel aired a video on April 26, claiming it showed residents of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) protesting against the Pakistan Army in the wake of a deadly attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on April 22.
The claim is false. The protest was unrelated to Pakistan’s military or recent India-Pakistan tensions.
Claim
India TV, a Hindi-language news channel, broadcast visuals alleging that civilians in Mirpur, a city in AJK, had taken to the streets to oppose the Pakistan army following the Pahalgam attack.
"If bombing starts on the Line of Control, no civilian will support the Pakistan army as people in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are against the Pakistan army," the channel's voiceover claimed, accompanied by footage of protesters.
The clip, posted to YouTube, has been viewed over 603,000 times and liked more than 5,800 times.
Fact
The protest shown in the footage took place on April 16, 10 days before the Indian channel aired its report, and six days before the April 22 attack in Pahalgam.
Moreover, the demonstration was not against the military but in support of press freedom, confirmed two journalists who participated in the protest.
Afzal Butt, president of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), one of the organisers, told Geo Fact Check by phone that the protest was held outside the Legislative Assembly in Muzaffarabad, AJK, to demand the withdrawal of a police complaint against a local media outlet.
"The protest ended only after the complaint was withdrawn," Butt said.
Sehrish Qureshi, another journalist who attended the protest, confirmed the same. She shared footage with Geo Fact Check showing protesters holding banners calling for press freedom. One banner reads: "Stop the economic murder of Azad Kashmir’s newspapers."
Even the footage shown on the Indian channel shows the protesters holding a banner which reads: "Stop the economic murder of Azad Kashmir's newspapers."
Verdict: The claim is false. India TV misrepresented a peaceful protest for press freedom in Azad Jammu and Kashmir as an anti-military demonstration. Two journalists who participated confirmed the protest was unrelated to the Pakistan army or recent India-Pakistan tensions.
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