From Pulwama to Balakot: Pakistan’s Four Lies Busted

Cameraperson: Nitin Malik
Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma/Varun Sharma

Three things come to mind when Pakistan's name is mentioned – India’s biggest enemy, biggest factory of terrorism and the most shameless country to speak bold lies.

Speaking of the first two things, India has been dealing with it for decades. But it is an age-old habit of Pakistan to lie. What is the solution to this? Until now, there has not been any because going back on its promises is in Pakistan’s nature.

Let’s address Pakistan’s biggest lies.

False Claims On Jamaat-Ud-Dawa

After the Pulwama attack, under global pressure, Pakistan said on 21 February it was banning Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s organisations – Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation.

Pakistan Home Ministry spokesperson said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan during the National Security Meet, it was decided that the two organisations will be banned.

However, this move was probably just for the world to see, because on 4 March, the lie was busted by no one but the Pakistan government website: National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA).

According to the website, the two groups had not been banned. Instead, on behalf of the Home Ministry, these two groups were added to the list of groups that were under the scanner.

After the lie was out in the open, Pakistan had to do some damage control. In haste, the very next day, the two groups were put in the list of banned organisations.

False Claims on Jaish-E-Mohammed

It's not just the Pakistan government, which is known for lying, the Army is known to do the same. On 6 March, Pakistan military Spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor, in an interview to CNN, said, “Jaish-e-Mohammed does not exist in Pakistan."

The United Nations and Pakistan have also placed a ban on JeM. Does this mean Pakistan has banned a group that ‘has no existence’?

Interestingly, a few days before, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had said in a TV interview that JeM chief Masood Azhar was in Pakistan and was ill. Have you seen a bigger case of bold lies?

False Claims On F-16 Aircraft

Jolted with the Indian Air Force’s air strikes, Pakistan sent its F-16 fighter jets into the Indian border on 27 February. Indian radar took notice of them and alerted the IAF, after which the force scared them away. During this, one of their F-16 jets was brought down and it fell on the other side of the LoC.

By using F-16 against India, Pakistan has violated the ‘End-User’ deal with the US. The deal allows Pakistan to use F-16 only during investigation against terrorism.

However, Pakistan claims that it did not use any F-16s during the mission. Along with that, the country also denied that the IAF had brought down their aircraft.

Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor, during a press conference, had submitted proof by showing parts of the AMRAAM missile, which were found in the Indian territory, to the media. Now the thing to note here is that the one aircraft Pakistan has, in which such a missile can be used, is the F-16. Now Pakistan is clarifying its stance to America.

False Claims On Meet With Trump

To make itself look tall, Pakistan unabashedly lies in front of the world. Last year in September, apart from the United Nations General Assembly meet, a lunch was organised where Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was also present.

In an interview to PTV, Qureshi said: “I met President Trump. During the meet I got an opportunity to discuss Pakistan’s relations with America.” Qureshi even claimed that he got a positive response from Trump and he shared his intention to mend the US-Pakistan relationship.

The White House denied the claims and issued a statement, saying that during the lunch, President Trump only shook hands with Qureshi and that no such talks took place between them. 

Think about it, the Pakistan foreign minister made the incident into such a big story when he just shook hands with Trump. Imagine what all he would have said if they had actually spoken to each other.

Earlier also, during attacks in Pathankot, Uri, Mumbai, Parliament and the Kargil War, Pakistan’s several lies have been uncovered. But this has not deterred the country from telling more lies.

This story was originally published on Quint Hindi