A five-year-old video of the Indian Army’s encounter of a top Jaish-e-Muhammad commander has been trending on social media over the last couple of days.
Sadly though, the video is being shared with false information in an attempt at spreading misinformation to stoke tension in the Valley.
Shockingly, in what could only be described as a thinly veiled attempt at maligning the Indian Army, “non-profit, investigative news portal” Cobrapost has also gone ahead and picked up the video.
What is worse is that the article comes at a time when the Valley is already simmering with violence amid rising anti-army sentiment in the wake of the Burhan Wani encounter which has consumed over 40 young lives and injured more than a 100 in the process.
Cobrapost, in the article, uses the 5-year-old video of the encounter of Jaish-e-Muhammad commander Ahsan Bhai, a Pakistani national, and tries to pass it off as the cold blooded killing of “a victim that sports a beard, in the fashion that Muslim residents are wont to do in Kashmir.”
NDTV and NEWSX reported extensively on the issue back in 2011.
Attempt at Maligning the Army’s Image and Stoking Tension in the Valley?
This spin on the encounter of one of Jaish’s top men, who was all set to carry out a grenade attack on the army personnel, is highly unfortunate given its timing as it adversely impacts the already volatile situation in the valley.
Speaking on the issue in 2011, the Indian Army’s spokesman, Lt Colonel J. S. Brar had this to say:
He was given enough opportunity to surrender which he didn’t. In this particular video, if you observe closely, he has a grenade in his hand and he was killed in retaliation to avoid collateral damage. After clearing the area, a lot more explosives were found around him.
In light of the facts, Cobrapost’s fallacy must be called out for what it is – irresponsible journalism. At a time when tensions between civilians and the state are at an all time high, such rumour mongering by members of the mainstream media needs to be curbed at all cost.
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