The story of the dead teacher who is falsely called the terrorist

Ahmed Faruk is still happy with anger when he tells about his brother’s death.

Mohammad Ikbal, a resident of Punch in Indian Kashmir, died in cross -border fire on May 7, in the morning after India launched a series of air beats In Pakistan and Pakistan, which is released in Kashmir, he was pleased with the attacker in the city, which killed 26 people. Pakistan denied any role in the attack.

Mr. Ahmed says that Ikbal died where he worked for more than two decades-a-ul-ulum, Madras, or a religious center-oriented center.

But his death, it turned out, was just the beginning of the family’s troubles.

As the news spread several media channels, Ikbala was falsely accused of being a terrorist, after which the police outlined a statement refuting the lawsuit.

“My brother was a teacher, but they saw his beard and skull -gap and called him a terrorist,” says Mr. Ahmed.

“It was the way the salt was rubbed into our wounds. We lost the Ikbala, and then the media slandered it. The dead couldn’t protect themselves.”

Indian officials say a total of 16 people, including Ikbal, were killed in border fire during a four -day military conflict that began between India and Pakistan after the airstrikes.

Pakistan said 40 civil deaths, however, remain unclear how many of them were caused by shelling.

Both nuclear armed armed armed countries shared tense relationships for decades when both Himalayan Kashmir region runs partly but claim it in full.

They conducted three Kashmir wars after Independence from Britain in 1947 and returned from the border of another Earlier this month.

But as the military conflict increased in the social media, another battle took place – a Misinformation war claims and counter requirements This was distributed on the Internet and on TV.

Just like rumors about Ikbala’s identity, other deceptive and inaccurate information also found their way into some basic news channels and web -shaped.

This included claims, such as India, destroyed the Pakistani port of Karachi, which was later debunked by the Indian government.

Some of the other products were more difficult to notice, such as the Pakistan Video General, claiming that his country has lost two planes in battle.

“The scale of misinformation and approval without the facts broadcasting the media were shocking,” says Manis Pande, head of the Newslaundry editor, independent news platform.

She notes that while the degree of sensation is expected, when the channels compete for the viewer, “jingaiistic and irresponsible coverage” the conflict was unprecedented in its intensity – and unlike everything she witnessed before.

No one knows this better than Mr. Ahmed.

“I do not know where the news channels received information about my brother,” says Mr. Ahmed.

“Who did they talk to? What evidence do they have that my brother was a terrorist?” he asks.

A few weeks later, the family is still felt from the tragedy.

Mr Ahmed says that his brother left home on May 7 in Madras in the morning, but his body returned home. By noon, they buried him in the neighboring cemetery.

For some time the family did not imagine the misinformation shared by some newsletters. They were busy performing the latest rites of Ikbala.

And only a few hours later, the relative received WhatsApp – a video of the famous news channel, claiming that the Indian army had killed a terrorist, and a photo of Ikbala flag on the screen.

“We were shocked. We soon started receiving more calls from the people who asked us what was happening and why the media was called by Ikbala to a terrorist,” Mr. Ahmed says.

The claims were shared by some famous channels, including Zee News, ABP and News18. BBC turned to channels for comments.

One channel claimed that Ikbal was killed in an “Indian Strike at a terrorist camp” in Kashmir, which was engaged in Pakistan and that he was a terrorist from a Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-E-Taiba.

“The members of our family remained in the points throughout the generations. How can they say that my brother lived in Pakistan? They (the media) should be ashamed,” says Mr.

The accusation against IKBALL was widespread so wide and fast that on May 8, Pacchch police have submitted a statement, saying that the Ikbal was killed in the border shelling in Madras.

“Punch’s police strongly refutes such false stories. The late, Maulana Mohd Ikbal, was respected a religious figure in the local community and had no belonging to any terror,” the statement said, adding that legal actions would be launched against any network or person.

But for Mr. Ahmed, the statement was too late.

“By then, the false claim has already reached millions in India,” he says.

He adds that, with the exception of one channel, News18, no one else publicly apologized to him or their viewers for the mistake.

Mr Ahmed says he wants to take legal actions against the channels, but the process must wait because the family is fighting to bring the ends closer.

Ikbala survived two wives and eight children. He was the only participant in his family.

Mr. Ahmed says that the compensation of the government, which is several million rupees, will last only a year or two, and they must start planning the future now.

“The whole family depended on my brother. He was a quiet and delicate person who loved teaching children,” says Mr. Ahmed.

“But who will tell the world? For many people, my brother is still a terrorist whose murder is justified. How will they understand our pain?”

Additional Auqib Javeed Report in Srinaria in Indian Available Kashmir

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