Pakistan's media not so surgical while reporting on Indian Army's strike in PoK

NEW DELHI: On a day when the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, there was conflicting news and views from either side of the border. A section of the Pakistan media insisted that the Indian Army’s statement of surgical strikes early Thursday morning was untrue as Islamabad had denied it.

However, Urdu newspaper Dunya said India ‘violated’ the Line of Control and indulged in firing, killing two Pakistani soldiers. It also said the firing was well-planned and meant to ‘satisfy’ Indians and the Indian media. Speculation on the number of Indian causalities in the attacks, meanwhile, dominated tweets of Pakistani journalists.

Geo TV journalist Hamid Mir tweeted that many Indian soldiers were injured in retaliatory response from the Pakistan Army and that there was video footage to confirm this.

On the other hand, Doordarshan and the All India Radio, apart from their regular bulletins that reported the attacks, carried programmes in praise of the Indian Army. The bulletins receivable in Pakistan, including Balochistan, talked about Indian preparedness to counter terror. A Prasar Bharati source said Doordarshan and AIR were focusing on running ‘creative programmes’ to boost the morale of the Indian Army and keep spirits high.