Amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan in May 2025, several Pakistani media outlets had falsely claimed that Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh was captured by enemy forces. However, those reports were quickly debunked. Now, the claims stand completely disproven as President Droupadi Murmu posed with the IAF officer on Wednesday during her Rafale sortie at the Ambala Air Force Base.
According to an IANS report, while the conflict between India and Pakistan was ongoing, the Pakistan-based social media handles chipped in to peddle a false agenda. Many handles fabricated a story of the capture of the IAF officer and also shared fake images across various platforms. Gulf-based channels also reported this fake propaganda, only to issue a clarification later.
President Murmu’s Historic Rafale Sortie
President and Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces Droupadi Murmu completed a sortie in a Rafale fighter aircraft at Ambala Air Force Station.
Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh was also at the Air Force Station when the President took off in the Rafale.
As per ANI, at the Ambala Air Force Station, President Murmu was formally given a guard of honour before her Rafale sortie.
India-Pakistan Conflict
On April 22, terrorists opened fire in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, killing 26 individuals. The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-based LeT, at first claimed responsibility for the attack but later retracted it.
Subsequently, to avenge the brutal killings, the Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
Following this, Pakistan had launched a swarm of drones and missile attacks on the Indian territory, leading to heightened military and diplomatic tensions between the two nations.
However, a ceasefire agreement was reached after Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) contacted his Indian counterpart. A cessation of hostilities was announced on May 7. Although military action was halted, New Delhi continued to pursue diplomatic measures against Islamabad.
Pakistan’s False Information Narrative During Operation Sindoor
The IANS report also stated that Pakistan attempted to sell false narratives about India’s ‘defeat’, the fall of its fighter jets, to project itself as a ‘winner’ in the digital space.
As India struck its popular airstrip and airbases, Pakistan started leveraging its access to Western media to push anti-India propaganda. As per the report, among other lies, DGISPR used a two-year-old image from 2023 to falsely show their Navy’s preparedness against India. Moreover, an old footage of sectarian clashes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 2024 was recycled and recirculated as evidence of an attack on Srinagar airbase, the same was dismissed by PIB as Pakistan’s disinformation campaign.
In one of the most brazen lies, Pakistan claimed to have shot down five Indian fighter jets and also posted doctored images as “proof.”
Notably, Indian authorities have debunked Pakistan’s fake claims and reported lies and answered them with proof more than once.
