Major News Outlets Misreport Old Image As First Photo Of Terrorist Involved In Pahalgam Attack

An image showing a gun-toting man dressed in a salwar-kameez, taken from the back, is being widely peddled as the first photo of one of the terrorists involved in the recent attack in Jammu & Kashmir’s Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives. 

Multiple major news outlets such as Times Now, FirstPost, APB News, AajTak, Jansatta also claimed that the viral image was the first photo of the terrorist involved in the Pahalgam attack. The image is also being widely shared on social media as well.

Also Read: Viral List Of Pahalgam Terror Attack Victims Featuring 15 Muslim Names Is Fake

Fact Check/Verification

A reverse image search on the viral photo led us to a Facebook post by ‘Bilalkhan Bilalkhan’, a Pakistan-based account, dated October 26, 2021. The video showed the person, seen in the viral photo, training to fire a gun. 

Around 29 seconds into the video, we spotted the exact frame seen in the viral photo. However, we were not able to ascertain other details about the video.

Also Read: Pahalgam Terror Attack – 2019 Video Of Imran Khan Warning India Against Military Action Shared As Recent

We did not find any credible report stating that the investigative agencies have released any purported images of the terrorists. The agencies have, however, released sketches of three terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack.

Also Read: Viral Screenshot Of Chinese Diplomat’s ‘X Post’ Threatening India Over Suspending Indus Water Treaty Is Fabricated

Conclusion

Hence, we find that the viral image being touted as the first photo of a terrorist involved in the Pahalgam attack has been available on the internet since at least 2021. We could not independently ascertain other details of the same.

Source
Facebook Post by ‘Bilalkhan Bilalkhan’, a Pakistan-based account, dated October 26, 2021.

(This article was first published in Newschecker Hindi.)