Pakistan Deputy PM draws flak after citing fake image to praise PAF in Parliament

Islamabad, May 16 (IANS) Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has come under widespread criticism for citing a fake newspaper image praising Pakistan, circulated over social media platforms, falsely claiming it to be from the UK-based paper The Daily Telegraph. Ishar Dar referred to the fake image describing Pakistan Airforce (PAF) as the ‘undisputed king of the skies’, during his speech in the Parliament session on Thursday.

Dar, while praising the PAF for its success, stated “The Telegraph newspaper writes, ‘Pakistan Airforce is the undisputed king of the skies.’ Alhamdulillah,” prompting thumping praise from the parliamentarians.

However, many were quick to realise that Dar had cited and quoted a fake image, which had nothing to do with The Daily Telegraph.

The fake picture, which is AI-generated, was shared across many social media platforms, and many Pakistani journalists had shared it, praising what they though was part of the global recognition of the country’s PAF in its defence and counter-attack capabilities.

However, it was revealed later that the picture was fake.

It is pertinent to note that since the India-Pakistan tensions escalated and both sides carried out major attacks against each other, social media was flooded with many images, news and claims, all of which later turned out to be fake.

Though Dar has been called out for his mistake during his speech in Parliament, no clarification has been issued by him yet.

It would not be wrong to maintain that during the recent conflict between Pakistan and India, Islamabad has relied on social media posts as ‘proof’ to back many of its claims, including that of shooting down at least 5 Indian fighter jets, which now, have increased to six.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif was called out by many, after he relied on unverified social media posts to claim that at least five Indian jets were shot down.

When asked by a CNN news anchor about the proof of the claims, Asif said “the proof is all over social media”.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during his speech at PAF airbase Kamra on Thursday, claimed that at least six Indian fighter jets were shot down by Pakistan. This includes 3 Rafales, 1 SU-30MKI, 1 Mirage 2000, and 1 MIF-29.

However, this also remains a claim that needs proof to back it, something that is yet to be brought to public knowledge.

--IANS

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