SRINAGAR: A civilian identified as Qari Mohammad Iqbal, a teacher at Jamia Zia-ul-Uloom in Poonch and resident of Baila, was killed in cross-border shelling from Pakistan on Tuesday, local officials confirmed. The incident occurred amid fresh hostilities along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district.
However, outrage has erupted on social media after multiple national news channels inaccurately reported Qari Iqbal’s death as that of a “terrorist” neutralised by Indian airstrikes . Channels such as ABP News and Zee News have been singled out for broadcasting the claim without verification, prompting strong condemnation from locals and civil society members.
Mohemmed Zubair of AltNews has criticised the coverage, writing: “This is shameful by Indian news channels. Qari Mohammad Iqbal from Poonch, India was killed yesterday in shelling from Pakistan and is being portrayed as a ‘terrorist’.” Another widely shared post accused Zee News of “shamelessly labelling Qari Saab as a terrorist,” despite his civilian status and local standing as a teacher.
Local residents and community leaders described Qari Iqbal as a respected Islamic scholar and teacher who had dedicated years to the seminary in Poonch. “He was an innocent civilian. To falsely brand him as a militant is an insult to his memory and deeply hurtful to his family and our community,” said a senior resident of Baila.
No official correction had been issued by the television channels concerned at the time of filing this report.
