Footage of drill in Indian-administered Kashmir misrepresented as deadly attack in region
- Published on May 15, 2026 at 07:21
- 2 min read
- By Devesh MISHRA, AFP India
A year after militants opened fire on holidaymakers in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, a video of a security drill circulated in social media posts falsely claiming it showed another deadly attack in the region in April 2026. There have been no official reports of such an attack and similar footage of the drill, conducted by local authorities to test their preparedness for emergencies, was also shared by other local media.
"Terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar again," says both the superimposed Hindi-language text and caption of an Instagram clip shared on April 24, 2026.
The clip shows emergency vehicles driving onto a grassy field and rescue workers appearing to help injured people into ambulances.
The clip also appeared in similar Facebook and Instagram posts a year after a deadly attack on tourists in Pahalgam, also in Indian-administered Kashmir, that killed 26 men, mostly Hindus (archived link).
India blamed Pakistan for backing the April 22, 2025 attack -- a charge Islamabad denied -- triggering tit-for-tat diplomatic measures and a sharp military escalation leading to the worst conflict between the South Asian nuclear-powered neighbours in decades.
Indian strikes on May 7, 2025 against what it described as "terrorist camps" in Pakistan were met with an immediate response by Islamabad, as the countries exchanged mortar fire as well as air and drone strikes for four days before a ceasefire was agreed.
The circulating clip, however, does not show another attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April 2026. As of May 15, there have been no official reports of such an attack in the Kishtwar area.
Emergency preparedness drill
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared clip led to a longer version posted on April 23 on the Instagram account of journalist Komal Singh Manhas (archived link).
The Instagram video's description says: "Location - Kishtwar; A mock drill was conducted in Kishtwar by Civil Defence local administration to assess emergency preparedness and response coordination."
It adds that officials and rescue teams reviewed "evacuation protocols, communication systems, and response measures".
"This video is from a security mock drill conducted by the local administration in Kishtwar on April 22," Manhas also told AFP on May 8. "It is being shared with a false claim, and this can cause panic. I went to cover the drill and filmed this video."
The drill was also covered by local media, which posted similar clips of the exercise (archived here and here).
AFP has previously debunked similar false claims that misrepresented footage from drills as genuine incidents.
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