Pakistan uses disinformation to revive May 2025 conflict claims

New Delhi: Pakistan has renewed disinformation efforts on social media to promote claims of strikes on Indian military facilities in Punjab during last year’s brief conflict with India. The current dis-info campaign, active on platforms including X, features fake satellite images said to show damage at sites around Amritsar and other locations in Punjab, presented as evidence of Pakistani missile or drone strikes carried out in May 2025.

Independent examination of the images, including side-by-side comparison with current and historical open-source satellite data, shows no visible destruction. The structures at the locations remain undamaged, with no craters, debris scatter, scorch marks, collapsed buildings or other indicators consistent with precision strikes.

The material surfaced seven months after the four-day conflict, which began on 7 May 2025. India launched Operation Sindoor in response to a 22 April terrorist attack in Pahalgam, that killed 26 civilians. The attack was done by Pakistan trained terrorists, all of whom were neutralised by Indian forces.

Indian forces conducted precision strikes on several sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir linked to UN listed terror groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. A ceasefire took effect on 10 May. At the time of the conflict, Pakistan released statements about striking Indian facilities in Punjab but did not provide verifiable satellite imagery or other supporting evidence. The images now in circulation lack timestamps, metadata identifying the satellite source, and confirmation from established commercial or intelligence providers.

Open-source analysts have noted that the visuals use selective framing and omit expected signs of battle damage. Comparative imagery of the same sites taken before, during and after the conflict period shows no observable change.

The renewed circulation of these images follows earlier patterns of online narratives during and after the conflict, including unverified assertions about strike outcomes and victory claims. It also shows Pakistan's continued support to dis-information as part of statecraft.