Indian propaganda accounts are sharing an image of a person, claiming it to be of the captured Pakistani pilot who was allegedly detained by forces, as per reports by the Indian media.

An X post on May 8, 2025, by a known Indian propagandist shared an image with the following caption: “Pic of the pilot captured”.

However, a reverse image search yielded the photograph on the website of visual media company and stock image provider Getty Images with the following caption: “Turkish millitary personnel arrive near a Turkish F16 war plane which crashed in Diyarbakir on December 12, 2016. A Turkish fighter jet crashed near an airport in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, the military said, but the pilot was able to safely eject from the plane.The cause of the crash was not immediately known but the government said an investigation had been launched. / AFP / ILYAS AKENGIN (Photo credit should read ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP via Getty Images)”.

Thus, the image is nearly a decade old and shows Turkish military personnel, not any captured Pakistani pilot.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has already rejected reports of the captured pilot.

Opinion

A long week

A long week

There’s some wariness about the excitement surrounding this moment of international glory.

Editorial

Unlearnt lessons
Updated 28 Apr, 2026

Unlearnt lessons

THE US is undoubtedly the world’s top military and economic power at this time. Yet as the Iran quagmire has ...
Solar vision?
28 Apr, 2026

Solar vision?

THE recent imposition of certain regulatory requirements for small-scale solar systems, followed by the reversal of...
Breaking malaria’s grip
28 Apr, 2026

Breaking malaria’s grip

FOR the first time in decades, defeating malaria in our lifetime is possible, according to WHO. Yet in Pakistan,...
Pathways to peace
Updated 27 Apr, 2026

Pathways to peace

NEGOTIATIONS to hammer out the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement took nearly two years before a breakthrough was achieved....
Food-insecure nation
27 Apr, 2026

Food-insecure nation

A NEW UN-backed report has listed Pakistan among 10 countries where acute food insecurity is most concentrated. This...
Migration toll
27 Apr, 2026

Migration toll

THE world should not be deceived by a global migration count lower than the highest annual statistics on record —...