Pakistan’s HQ-9 Air Defence Systems Damaged Amid Operation Sindoor; Misinformation Campaign Exposed

Pakistan’s Air Defence Hit in Operation Sindoor; Misinformation Blitz Debunked by India

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May 08, 2025 : Pakistan’s HQ-9 air defence missile units have reportedly sustained significant damage, according to sources in Islamabad, following India’s precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, which targeted nine terror infrastructure sites inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).

Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed that 24 impacts were recorded across six locations, involving various types of weaponry. The ISPR also claimed that Pakistani forces had downed drones belonging to the Indian Armed Forces — a claim unverified by independent sources.

In the aftermath of the strikes, Pakistan has launched a misinformation campaign aimed at diverting attention and distorting public perception. State-affiliated accounts and social media users have circulated doctored videos, old images, and fabricated claims, overwhelming the information space with falsehoods.

One such claim involved an alleged Indian military base strike in Amritsar, where Pakistani user Shamil Jawani (@ShamilJawani1) posted a video falsely claiming “numerous casualties.” The Press Information Bureau’s (PIB) Fact Check unit debunked this claim, clarifying that the video was from a 2024 wildfire and had no connection to any military operations.

Another false narrative included a viral image purporting to show an Indian Rafale jet shot down near Bahawalpur. However, the image was confirmed by PIB Fact Check to be from a 2021 MiG-21 crash in Moga, Punjab, unrelated to current events.

Adding to the misinformation spectacle, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif faced international scrutiny during a CNN interview, where he claimed that Pakistan had shot down five Indian jets. When asked for evidence, Asif said it was “all over social media.” The anchor sharply responded, “We didn’t ask you here to talk about social media content.”