Video of Indian military chief saying '250 soldiers were killed in Indian-Pakistan clash' is edited

"Indian Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi admits to losing more than 250 soldiers in war against Pakistan. Pakistan was aware of our every single movement due to Chinese satellites," reads a Facebook post shared on July 29.

The post includes a video showing Dwivedi speaking behind a podium in Hindi with a watermark belonging to the media organisation The Indian Express.

"Taking this tradition forward, during Operation Sindoor also, the Indian Army, with the same valour and determination, targeted the Pakistan-backed terrorist infrastructure and effectively thwarted other aggressive actions of Pakistan and won a decisive victory," Dwivedi says in the clip at the 0:36 mark, referring to the military campaign India launched against Pakistan in May (archived link). 

"The Indian army suffered heavy losses along the LoC (Line of Control) as 250 Indian soldiers were martyred, and at the same time the entire movement of our assets was being closely monitored by Pakistan and Chinese satellites," he goes on. 

"We gave peace a chance, but they (Pakistan) carried out a cowardly act and we responded with valour."

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post taken on August 19, 2025 with a red X added by AFP

The posts emerged after Dwivedi gave a speech on July 26 during a ceremony marking the 26th anniversary of India's victory over Pakistan in the 1999 Kargil war, where he also praised the military in the recent clash with Islamabad (archived link).

The conflict erupted after gunmen attacked tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir in April, killing 26 men, most of them Hindus. India accused Pakistan of backing the attackers, an allegation Islamabad denied. 

A surprise ceasefire on May 10 brought a halt to the clash, which killed more than 70 people on both sides (archived here and here). 

Pakistan claimed its Chinese-supplied jets had shot down six Indian aircraft -- including three French-made Rafale fighters.

India's chief of defence staff, Anil Chauhan, called Pakistan's claims "absolutely incorrect", but appeared to confirm New Delhi had lost an unspecified number of aircraft without giving details (archived link).

The same clip appeared in false posts on Instagram, X and TikTok. 

But the audio was dubbed and the original video made no mention of casualties. 

A reverse image search of keyframes found the original video by The Indian Express (archived link).

Dwivedi can be heard making the same remarks at the 1:46 mark. But contrary to the false clip, it does not show him speaking about the hundreds of casualties along the LoC, or that Pakistani and Chinese satellites tracked Indian troop movement.

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Screenshots comparison of the false post (left) and the Indian Express video

His speech can also be heard in a livestream from another Indian outlet The Hindu at the 4:32 mark, which also does not show him speaking of the casualty figures in the false post (archived link).

AFP has previously debunked misinformation related to the India-Pakistan conflict here.