Old Pakistan mosque fire misrepresented as 'India strike'

Published on May 20, 2025 at 07:55
3 min read
By Masroor GILANI, AFP Pakistan

A year-old video of a fire near Pakistan's national mosque has been misused in posts that claim it shows the aftermath of a drone attack during the recent conflict with India. An AFP journalist visited the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad and found no signs of damage from the fighting.

"Drone attack on Faisal Mosque Islamabad," reads the Urdu-language caption of a video posted on X on May 8, 2025.

The video, showing a fire on the side of the road on the way to the mosque in the capital, was shared as India and Pakistan clashed in the worst violence between the countries in decades (archived here and here).

Drone, missile, fighter jet and artillery attacks across the nuclear-armed neighbours' contested frontier claimed the lives of at least 70 people on both sides before a ceasefire was agreed (archived link).

The fighting erupted two weeks after an attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 that killed 26 people and which India accused Pakistan of backing.

Pakistan firmly denied any involvement and called for an independent investigation.

Screenshot of the false X post, captured on May 16, 2025

The same clip was shared alongside similar claims elsewhere on Facebook and TikTok.

While Pakistani military sources said its forces had shot down 77 drones with debris of many incursions seen by AFP in cities across the country, the footage circulating online predates the latest conflict (archived link).

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to similar visuals embedded in local news reports from the Pakistan Observer and Daily Ausaf about a fire near the mosque on May 28, 2024 (archived here and here).

The footage used in the news reports show the same vehicle parked near to a roadside fire on the approach to the Faisal Mosque.

According to the Daily Ausaf report, the fire broke out as Islamabad and much of the country sizzled through a heatwave.

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (left) and the clip posted by Daily Ausaf in May 2024 (right)

An AFP reporter who visited the mosque on May 8 after false posts circulated found no evidence of any drone attack or fire nearby.

The deputy commissioner of Islamabad also posted on X and on their verified Facebook page that local authorities rushed to the mosque immediately after reports of a drone attack spread on social media, but "the rumor proved false" (archived here and here).

"Citizens are requested not to pay attention to rumours regarding such matter."

The conflict between India and Pakistan has spurred a wave of misinformation, which AFP has debunked here.

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