OPERATED BY CEJ

False

FACT-CHECKED

by CEJ |

Viral video is old and does not show Pakistan-India clashes in Kashmir amid Pahalgam tensions

Posts from multiple users on social media platforms X and Facebook since April 27, 2025, shared a video showing artillery fire, claiming that clashes between India and Pakistan had begun in Kashmir. However, the video is old and not linked to the current tensions.

Claim

Video of clashes and fire exchange between India and Pakistan in Kashmir

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated 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 multiple users on social media platforms X and Facebook since April 27, 2025, shared a video showing artillery fire, claiming that clashes between India and Pakistan had begun in Kashmir. However, the video is old and not linked to the current tensions.

An attack took place in Pahalgam, a tourist hotspot in India-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. A hitherto unknown group, named by several Indian outlets as ‘The Resistance Front’, is said to have claimed responsibility for the attack.

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.

HOW IT STARTED

The iVerify Pakistan team was alerted on April 29 regarding a post on X and was requested to authenticate the content.

On April 27, a Facebook user, who appears to be a digital creator from Gujranwala, posted a 14-second clip showing several self-propelled artillery vehicles lined up and firing, while people nearby captured the moment.

The caption of the post read: “Clashes have begun between India and Pakistan in Kashmir; several areas along the 740-kilometre-long border have become battleground.”

The post gained 168,000 views and 230 shares on Facebook.

The same video was also found on Facebook, X and YouTube.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality, to satisfy the public’s request for authentication and keen interest in the tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack.

A reverse image search of a screenshot from the viral clip led to a report from a Turkish News website named Mepa News, published in November 2024.

The video was also found to have previously been shared on X by a pro-military account in August 2023.

The video was also shared as far back as October 2022 by pro-military accounts on Instagram and YouTube without any connection to India. The posts said it was a display of the Pakistan Army’s artillery capabilities and listed the names of the equipment in the video.

The origin or the original context of the video could not be conclusively determined but it was clear that it was unrelated to the current Pakistan-India tensions and did not a fire exchange between them in Kashmir.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a video shows clashes and exchange of fire between India and Pakistan in Kashmir is false.

The video has been shared as far back as October 2022 and is unrelated to the current tensions.

Evidence and References