Pak used fake pic to push a completely false narrative: India

Agencies
September 26, 2017

United Nations, Sept 26: India today slammed Pakistan for using a "fake picture" in the UN General Assembly to push a "completely false narrative", a day after its Permanent Representative presented an image of a girl from Gaza as a victim of pellet guns in Kashmir.

Exercising her right to reply hours after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj blasted Pakistan for its support to terrorism, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi, in a major goof-up, held up a photograph of a woman whose face was peppered with alleged pellet gun wounds.

"This is the face of Indian democracy," Lodhi said of the picture which had no connection with Kashmir. The picture of 17-year-old Rawya abu Joma'a of Gaza, an alleged victim of an Israeli attack was actually taken by award-winning American photojournalist Heidi Levine in July 2014.

"The Permanent Representative of Pakistan misled this Assembly by displaying this picture to spread falsehood about India. A fake picture to push a completely false narrative," said Paulomi Tripathi, a junior most Indian diplomat at the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations. Tripathi took the floor of the General Assembly to exercise India's right to reply to the blistering attack by Lodhi.

"The Permanent Representative of Pakistan, in her statement, yet again sought to divert attention from Pakistan's role as the hub of global terrorism. She did so by callously holding up a picture of an injured girl," Tripathi said.

"The picture was taken on 22 July 2014 by an American photographer Heidi Levine. This photograph was published by New York Times on March 24, 2015, under the caption 'Conflict, Courage and Healing in Gaza'," she said.

"In view of this cynical and misleading attempt by Pakistan, we are constrained to show this Assembly, a photograph that reflects the real picture of pain inflicted by the nefarious designs of Pakistan on India," she said showing a picture of Lieutenant Umar Fayaz.

22-year Umar, who was posted with 2 Rajputana Rifle, was picked up from his house at Harmein in Kulgam in May. The body of the young officer was later found three kilometres from his house.

"This is a real and not a fake picture of Lt Umar Fayaz. A young officer from the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir. Umar Fayaz was kidnapped at a wedding celebration. He was brutally tortured and killed by Pakistan supported terrorists in May 2017," Tripathi said showing the picture.

"This is a true picture. It portrays a harsh and tragic reality. A picture of terrorism emanating from across our borders that the people of India, especially in the state of Jammu and Kashmir have to struggle with, every day.

"This is the reality which the Permanent Representative of Pakistan sought to obfuscate. The true face of Pakistan is not hidden from anyone," Tripathi said as she displayed the two pictures again to the international community. Pakistan, meanwhile, continued with its fake narrative against India.

Speaking on behalf of Pakistan, Tipu Usman, a counsellor at Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN, claimed, "Kashmiris want the freedom to form brutal Indian occupation".

They will continue to rise again and again and again, he said.

"Kashmiris will take bullet after bullet; pallet after pallet but will never give up. The real issue is of human life, of human eyes, of children and infants blinded forever," he said.

Usman alleged that India's diversionary tactics will not change the situation on the ground. "It is the situation on the ground that India has to answer for. It is the call for legality, morality and conscience that it has to answer for," he said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
November 22,2025

indiapak.jpg

New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
November 24,2025

lebanon.jpg

Israel has launched a new act of aggression on a residential neighborhood in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, killing and injuring about two dozen civilians.

The Israeli regime's military said in a statement that its forces carried out a so-called precise strike in a residential apartment in Dahiyeh in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday.

The aggression targeted residential areas, killing at least five people and injuring more than 28 people, Lebanon's Health Ministry said. 

Hezbollah announced the martyrdom of senior Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai and four resistance fighters.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun condemned the airstrike, calling it a clear demonstration of Tel Aviv’s disregard for repeated international calls to halt violations on Lebanese soil.

“Israel refuses to implement international resolutions and all efforts aimed at ending the escalation and restoring stability,” Aoun said, urging the international community to take action to prevent further aggression.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement also condemned the attack, holding the international community accountable. 

“The international community bears responsibility and continues to provide cover for these attacks as long as it does not restrain the occupiers,” said Ali Abu Shahin, a member of the group’s political bureau.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the Israeli army carried out a strike “in the heart of Beirut."

Netanyahu reportedly approved the operation following recommendations from top Israeli security officials.

Two senior US officials commented on the Israeli strike.

The first official said that Israel did not notify Americans in advance about the attack. "We were informed immediately after the strike was carried out."

The second senior official said that the "US knew for several days that Israel was planning to escalate its strikes in Lebanon, but did not know in advance the timing, location, or target of the strike."

Speaking from the site of the Israeli strike, Lebanese MP Ali Ammar condemned the attack as part of a broader campaign of aggression that has targeted "all of Lebanon since the Washington-sponsored ceasefire."

He stated that "any attack on Lebanon is a violation of red lines; this aggression is part and parcel of the entity that targets Lebanon's dignity, sovereignty, and security of citizens."

Ammar went on to say the resistance is responding with "utmost wisdom, patience, and will confront the enemy at the appropriate time."

"Unfortunately, the enemy is emboldened to commit its aggression by voices within Lebanon that have turned themselves into tools that support its aggression," he added.

The Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital is the latest blatant violation of the ceasefire Israel signed with Hezbollah in November 2024, which was intended to end hostilities that had escalated into full-scale war.

An Israeli strike on the Ain al-Hilweh camp near Sidon in southern Lebanon late Tuesday killed at least 14 people. It wounded several others, including young students, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

The military claimed the attack targeted “a Hamas training compound” used to plan and carry out attacks against the regime -- a claim that has frequently been made without evidence.

Hamas rejected the allegations as “a blatant lie aimed at justifying the massacre,” stating it had “no military installations in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon” and that the targeted site was merely “an open sports field.”

According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 4,000 people and displaced more than 1.2 million residents across the country since October 2023.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
November 21,2025

Tejas.jpg

An Indian Air Force (IAF) Tejas fighter jet crashed on Friday, November 21, afternoon during its aerial demonstration at the Dubai Air Show, plunging to the ground at around 2:10 pm local time while performing a manoeuvre before thousands of spectators.

The IAF confirmed the incident, stating that a Tejas aircraft participating in the show had crashed and that further details were being gathered. An Air Force spokesperson said more information would be shared after initial assessments.

The crash sent thick black smoke billowing into the sky near the airport, causing panic among visitors, including families and children who had gathered to watch the display. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the pilot managed to eject before the aircraft went down. Emergency response teams rushed to the scene, and officials have not released information on casualties or damage so far.

The Tejas is a 4.5-generation, multi-role fighter aircraft developed indigenously by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Designed for versatility, it is capable of offensive air support, close combat, ground attack missions and maritime operations. The aircraft family includes single-seat fighters and twin-seat trainers for both the Air Force and Navy.

HAL describes the latest version, the LCA Mk1A, as the most advanced in the series, featuring an AESA radar, an upgraded electronic warfare suite with radar-warning and self-protection jamming, smart multifunction displays, a digital map generator, a combined interrogator–transponder system and a modern radio altimeter. These enhancements significantly improve the aircraft’s combat capability and survivability.

Further updates from IAF and UAE authorities are awaited.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.