Posts from several Indian accounts on X since April 27, 2025, shared a video showing hundreds of people getting away from an area clouded with lots of smoke, claiming the Pakistan Army faced “heavy losses” at the Line of Control (LOC) because of the Indian army amid tensions in the wake of the Pahalgam attack. However, the video is of Islamabad from May 2023 during the PTI’s riots across the country.
Video shows clash between Pakistan and Indian armies at the LOC
The iVerify Pakistan team reviewed this content and determined that it is false.
To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image search to find the original source of the video.
Posts from several Indian accounts on X since April 27, 2025, shared a video showing hundreds of people getting away from an area clouded with lots of smoke, claiming the Pakistan Army faced “heavy losses” at the Line of Control (LOC) because of the Indian army amid tensions in the wake of the Pahalgam attack. However, the video is of Islamabad from May 2023 during the PTI’s riots across the country.
An attack took place in Pahalgam, a tourist hotspot in Indian-occupied Kashmir that draws thousands of visitors every summer, on April 22. Gunmen opened fire on visitors, killing at least 26 people — all men from across India except one from Nepal — and injuring 17 others. It was the region’s deadliest attack on civilians since 2000.
India followed suit by announcing a series of actions against Pakistan. Responding in kind, Pakistan’s top brass also announced a series of measures, including the closure of its airspace to all India-owned or Indian-operated airlines with immediate effect.
On April 27, a user on X, who is Indian according to their display picture and past posts, shared two videos, one of which shows lots of smoke near a hilly area with hundreds of people getting away from it while filming the scene.
The user wrote in the caption, “Pakistan faced heavy losses at the LOC with multiple posts being dismantled across various locations. Indian Army is in no mood to show mercy on these terrorist nations.”
The clip received 874,200 views and was shared 3000 times.
The video was shared by several other Indian users on X here, here, here and here.
A fact check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and significant public interest in the tensions between Pakistan and India.
Conducting a reverse image search of the video yielded a link to an X post by the PTI, dated May 11, 2023.
“Heavy shelling at Kashmir Highway as protesters number is increasing. It’s time for people of Pakistan to come out and defend Pakistan. #ReleaseImranKhan,” said the caption of the video shared by the party.
The timeline of the post coincided with former prime minister Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9, 2023, which caused protests to erupt across several cities in Pakistan, including one near Kashmir Highway, Islamabad.
The claim that a viral video shows clashes between the Pakistani and Indian armies at the LOC amid the post-Pahalgam tensions is false.
The clip shows a protest in Islamabad in May 2023 amid the PTI’s demonstrations against Imran’s arrest.
May 11, 2023, PTI X post:
https://x.com/PTIofficial/status/1656377527022112786
May 9, 2023, Al-Jazeera news article:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/9/protests-erupt-in-pakistan-cities-after-imran-khan-arrest
