A teacher who was killed in an attack on Poonch, Kashmir, on Thursday, May 8, due to shelling from Pakistan, was labelled as a terrorist by some media organisations in India.
However, police clarified that the victim identified as Qari Mohammad Iqbal was a teacher. The authorities dismissed claims of the media organisations, including News18, Zee News, and Republic TV, as “meaningless” and “baseless”.
The 46-year-old Iqbal, a native of Village Baila, Tehsil Mandi of Poonch, died due to cross-border shelling by Pakistan at Madrasa Zia-ul-Uloom in Poonch. Three of his students were injured.
Iqbal was killed as Pakistan carried out retaliatory strikes in Kashmir on Thursday following the operation Sindoor conducted by the Indian armed forces on May 6-7. As part of operation Sindoor, nine sites in Pakistan, which were reportedly terrorist bases, were targeted and destroyed.
Operation Sindoor was carried out to target the terrorist bases in Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir on April 22.
The media channels aired the news of Iqbal’s death with sensational headlines labelling the teacher as a terrorist from Lashkar-e-Toiba, a Pakistan-based terrorist outfit.
News 18 did a segment with headlines such as “Mara gaya Qari Mohammad Iqbal” and “Mara gaya Lashkar ka khoonkhaar aatanki” (Qari Mohammad Iqbal was killed, a dreaded terrorist of Lashkar was killed), branding the victim as a terrorist.
Similarly, Republic World aired a video titled, “Operation Sindoor: Terrorist Qari Mohammad Iqbal Killed at Kotli Camp | Who Was This Jaish Commander?” incorrectly attributed him as the “Top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander involved in major terror attacks, including Pulwama.
Republic TV also falsely claimed that Iqbal was confirmed dead in India’s retaliatory Operation Sindoor launched on 7 May 2025.
“He was “hiding at the Kotli Lashkar camp, just 15 km across the LoC from Rajouri,” had been “evading Indian agencies since the Pulwama attack,” the channel claimed.
The channel further claimed that the victim was among 50 terrorists who were present in the present at the Kotli camp targeted by Indian missiles.
Refuting the claims, the Poonch district police released a statement saying. “Poonch Police strongly refute such false narratives. The deceased, Maulana Mohammad Iqbal, was a respected religious figure in the local community and had no affiliation with any terror outfit.”
The police confirmed that Iqbal died due to an attack from Pakistan, which targeted at Madrasa Zia-ul-Uloom in Poonch city. In an appeal, the police said, “All media personnel and platforms are advised to verify facts from official sources before publishing any information pertaining to security and public order.”
