Faisal Saleem is a journalist at the Pakistan-based Friday Times.
On April 22, 2025, in Indian-administered Kashmir's well-known tourist destination Pahalgam, unknown assailants killed 26 tourists. Within hours, without investigation or evidence, the Indian government and media blamed Pakistan, declaring two of the attackers to be Pakistani citizens.
Pakistan expressed sorrow over the tragedy and called for a free and transparent investigation, making it clear that it was not involved in the matter and would fully cooperate with any inquiry. But Indian media had already gone into a frenzy, with many demanding an immediate strike on Pakistan. The Indian government even threatened to revoke the Indus Waters Treaty, creating unease in Pakistan. In turn, Pakistan hinted it could cancel the Simla Agreement. Neither side would formally follow through on these threats.
Faiza Gillani, 35, a journalist residing in Pakistan's Muzaffarabad, watched the events unfold. In the early hours between 6–7 May, the skies near six cities in Pakistani Punjab and Pakistan-administered Kashmir thundered with explosions from Indian army missiles.
Amid this tense situation, many social media users in Pakistan began questioning the security failures of Indian forces, calling the Pahalgam attack a false-flag operation and a political stunt. A large segment of social media, however, dove into a "meme war" until, on May 7, India launched an attack on Pakistan that lasted for about an hour.
In the line of fire
Faiza Gillani, 35, a journalist residing in Pakistan's Muzaffarabad, watched the events unfold. In the early hours between 6–7 May, the skies near six cities in Pakistani Punjab and Pakistan-administered Kashmir thundered with explosions from Indian army missiles.
Pakistan labeled the assault a war crime and announced it would deliver a strong response at a time of its choosing. While Kashmir, on both sides, had always been a conflict zone, Muzaffarabad – the capital of Azad Kashmir – had generally been considered safer. But this was no longer the case.
Gillani recalls how mosques and residential areas in Muzaffarabad were directly targeted. This immediately spread a wave of intense fear and panic among the people. "The explosions kept echoing in our mind while trying to sleep at night," she said. She also recalled facing continuous difficulties in her reporting work, adopting strict safety precautions like driving with her headlights off.
Daily life in Muzaffarabad came to a standstill. According to her, the tourism industry, built over the last 5–7 years employing 50,000 people, was also completely devastated as the clashes began during peak tourism season.
But as ground reporting became difficult, Pakistanis turned to the next best alternative: social media.
The social media buzz
Despite a barrage of misinformation, social media kept Pakistanis informed and, in many cases, helped them access verified facts amid wartime uncertainty. During the crisis, the Pakistani government even lifted the national-level Twitter ban imposed since May 2022, empowering citizens to act as "cyber warriors," whose role was publicly praised by the DGPR and broadcast media.
A meme war between India and Pakistan also broke out, bringing further visibility to the conflict. The meme war connected everyday grievances to the unfolding crisis: Karachi's street crime, water shortages, and pothole-ridden roads all became punchlines aimed at India's threats. Some users joked about meeting Bollywood actresses; others offered tongue-in-cheek travel tips to Indian forces on which roads in Karachi to avoid due to construction.
Waqas Saleem, 42, an interior designer based in Multan, said after a rebuttal from Pakistani forces on 7 May there was a silence between both countries. But messages circulated on WhatsApp hinting at the possibility of a nuclear war breaking out.
PTI's social media head, Jibran Ilyas, and prominent TV anchors credited PTI followers for quickly countering Indian propaganda online, helping keep the domestic situation calm. Many Indian social media users also linked the Pahalgam tragedy and subsequent aggression to India's upcoming Bihar elections, arguing that such spikes in border tensions historically coincide with Indian polls, benefitting politicians at the expense of ordinary lives on both sides.
But it wasn't only fun and games. The social media chatter also stoked worries and even influenced real-world decisions.
Waqas Saleem, 42, an interior designer based in Multan, said after a rebuttal from Pakistani forces on 7 May there was a silence between both countries. But messages circulated on WhatsApp hinting at the possibility of a nuclear war breaking out. "I started overthinking about how my family will survive in this situation," he said.
Elsewhere in Karachi, Arslan Ahmad, 39, a shopkeeper, said he relied on social media so much that he had created a perception in his head that this would be the final battle. "So, I stopped investing in shop stocks. I halted investments thinking I would have to leave the country soon," he said.
War of words
"We have at least five fighters confirmed kills and one large aircraft, taken on at about 300 kms. This is the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill," Indian Air Force Chief Amar Preet Singh claimed on 9 August 2025 while revealing Operation Sindoor. The recent statement was part of an exaggerated claim in the Indo-Pak conflict narrative. Similar narratives had developed in earlier conflicts, including the events of 7 May.
Indian officials, including Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, claimed the targets between 6–7 May were militant camps belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, with attacks killing over 100 people. Pakistan's DG ISPR, Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry, countered in a press briefing that at the time of the attack, 57 international flights were in Pakistani airspace. He presented visual evidence showing that all six targeted sites were civilian areas, including mosques and residential neighborhoods. He claimed the strikes killed 31 civilians, including women and children, and wounded 57 others.
Pakistan declared the attack a violation of its sovereignty and vowed a response. In defensive action, Pakistan claimed to have downed five Indian fighter jets, including a Rafale jet – a claim later confirmed by independent sources. On the night of 10 May, Pakistan retaliated by targeting ten Indian forces bases. Throughout these clashes, both sides kept their aircraft within their air space. On 11 May, after US intervention and global diplomatic pressure, the two sides agreed to a ceasefire.
Targets and realities
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh asserted that Indian forces had destroyed terrorist training camps linked to attacks in India. Pakistan dismissed the allegations outright, demanding concrete evidence or an independent investigation. To counter Indian claims, Pakistan took over 150 domestic and international journalists to the affected sites. Global reporters inspected a mosque and a residential compound in Muzaffarabad and found only household items; no sign of militant activity was observed. Both locations were in densely populated civilian areas.
How print, electronic media viewed conflict
Pakistani media labeled the Indian strikes cowardly, shameful, and part of a deliberate strategy to target civilians. Outlets promised a decisive response and sought public opinion, capturing emotional pledges of solidarity with the armed forces. Civil society voices, however, warned that the standoff added another layer to Pakistan's economic troubles, urging dialogue.
The Pakistani press maintained a largely responsible tone, amplifying verified information and citing reports from independent Indian journalists to underline Pakistan's restraint, including the downing of five Indian aircraft, which independent sources acknowledged even if India officially did not till today.
Political parties and restoring global image
Between 8–12 May, both the ruling PML-N and opposition PTI used their official channels to condemn Indian aggression and counter misinformation, generating nearly 79 million views. Pakistan's 10 May retaliatory strikes were widely described by international media and governments as decisive and victorious.
BBC South Asia analyst Ambrasan Ethirajan said Pakistan had "asserted itself as a victorious power." CNN's international diplomatic editor Nick Robertson reported that India's initial strikes on Pakistani airbases were met with sustained missile attacks so severe that India was forced to negotiate and step back from its aggressive posture. The Pakistani response, he noted, was both militarily effective and diplomatically reinforced.
Dr Farhan Hanif Siddiqi, an Indo-Pak relations expert, argued that India's repeated provocations, from the Jaffer Express incident to the 7 May clashes, were part of its ongoing bid for dominance in South Asia. Pakistan's decisive counterstrike, he said, not only safeguarded its sovereignty but also restored a measure of regional stability.
India, meanwhile, scrambled to justify its actions, sending envoys to 40 countries. It failed to convince many, notably Colombia, which retracted its initial pro-India statement after knowing the facts and expressed regret over Pakistani civilian casualties.
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