The story of a dead Indian teacher who is the media falsely denoting a terrorist

Faruk Ahmed is still shaking with anger when he talks about his brother’s death.

Mohammed Ikbal, a resident of the city of Puonch in the administration of Indian cashmere, died in cross -border firing on May 7, morning after India launched a series of air strikes In Pakistan and Pakistan, welcomed by Kashmir, in revenge for a belligerent attack in the city of Pahalgha, which killed 26 people. Pakistan denied having any role in the attack.

Mr. Ahmed says Ikbal has died where he has worked for more than two decades-zia-ul-uul, Madrassa or a religious center focused on Islamic teachings in Poonch.

But his death, it turned out, was only the beginning of family problems.

By the time the news spread, several media channels falsely accused ICBAL of being a terrorist, after which police presented a statement refuting the request.

“My brother was a teacher, but they saw the beard and the skull and marked him a terrorist,” says G -n Ahmed.

“It is as if salt is rubbed into our wounds. We lost Ikbal and then the media slandered it. The dead cannot be protected.”

Indian officials say a total of 16 people, including ICBAL, were killed in cross -border firing during the four -day military conflict that broke out between India and Pakistan after air strikes.

Pakistan claims 40 civilian deaths, it remains unclear how many of them were directly caused by the firing.

The two nuclear armed countries have shared a tense relationship for decades, as they both administer the Himalayan Kashmir region partly but claim it entirelyS

They waged three wars over Kashmir after UK independence in 1947 and came back from the edge of another Earlier this month.

But as the military conflict escalates, another battle plays out on social media – a misinformation war on claims and counterclaims This has spread online and on television.

Just like the ICBAL identity rumors, another misleading and inaccurate information also found a way in some basic news channels and websites.

This includes allegations like India, which destroyed the Karachi port in Pakistan, which was later debunked by the Indian government.

Some of the other fabrications were more difficult to notice, such as a video generated by AI by a Pakistani Army General, claiming that his country had lost two aircraft in battle.

“The scale of misinformation and statements without facts broadcast by the media was shocking,” says Manisha Pande, managing editor at Newslaund, an independent news platform.

She notes that although a degree of sensationalism is expected, as the channels compete for viewership, the “gingoistic and irresponsible reflection” of the conflict was unprecedented in its intensity – and, unlike anything she witnessed before.

Nobody knows this better than G -N -Ahmed.

“I don’t know where the news channels got information about my brother,” says G -n Ahmed.

“Who did they talk to? What evidence did they have that my brother was a terrorist?” he asks.

Weeks later, the family is still trying to try the tragedy.

Ahmed says that on May 7, his brother left home for Medresa in the morning, as usual, but it was his body that he returned home. By noon, they had buried him in the nearby cemetery.

For some time, the family had no idea of ​​the misinformation, which is shared by some news newspapers. They were busy executing the last rites of ICBAL.

Only hours later, a relative received whatsapp forward – a video of a prominent news channel claiming that the Indian army killed a terrorist, with the photo of Ikbal flashing on the screen.

“We were shocked. We soon started getting more calls from the people who ask us what’s going on and why the media calls Ikbal Terrorist,” says G -n Ahmed.

The claim was shared by some prominent channels, including Zee News, ABP and News18. The BBC turned to the comment channels.

A channel claims that Ikbal was killed in an “Indian blow to a Pakistan terrorist camp administered by Kashmir, and that he is a terrorist with a Pakistan-based Group Lashkar-E-Taiba.

“The members of our family have remained in Poonch for generations. How can they say that my brother lived in Pakistan? They (the media) should be ashamed,” says G -n Ahmed.

The accusation against ICBAL was widespread so widely and quickly that on May 8, Puonch police released a statement, clarifying that ICBAL had died in a cross -border firing in Madras.

“Poonch police categorically refute such false stories. The deceased, Moulana Mohd Ikbal, was a respected religious figure in the local community and had no belonging to any terrorist equipment,” the statement said, adding that legal action would be taken against any media outlet or individual.

But for the Ahmed, the statement was too a little too late.

“By then, the false statement would already reach millions of people in India,” he says.

He adds that with the exception of one channel, News18, no one else has apologized publicly to him or their viewers for the mistake.

Ahmed says he wants to take court action against the channels, but the process will have to wait as the family is struggling to end the ends.

Ikbal survived from his two wives and eight children. He was the only member of winning his family.

Ahmed says that the compensation given by the government, which amounts to several million rupees, will last only a year or two and they have to start planning the future now.

“The whole family depended on my brother. He was a quiet and gentle man who loved to teach children,” says G -n Ahmed.

“But who will say this in the world? For many people my brother is still a terrorist whose murder is justified. How will they understand our pain?”

Additional reporting from Auqib Jaaveed in Srinagar in India Kashmir administered by India

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