Fact Check: Army Generals walk out of high-level meeting over Pahalgam Terror Attack? No, find the facts

After the Pahalgam terror attack, the Indian government has launched a series of strong diplomatic, military, and domestic measures against Pakistan, holding it responsible for supporting the perpetrators. Speculation, particularly on social media, has been growing about the possibility of military action to deliver a strong message.

In this context, a video circulating on social media reportedly shows army officers walking out of a meeting mid-way. It is being claimed that, despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's aggressive stance on war, senior army generals left a high-level meeting, expressing their inability to engage in a military conflict with Pakistan.

The video shows a man questioning the officers as they walk out, asking, “What is the Army afraid of? Why are they running away like this? What a shame!”

A Threads user shared the video, writing, “BREAKING: Senior Indian Army generals have reportedly walked out of a high-level meeting, expressing their inability to engage in a war against Pakistan. Despite Prime Minister Modi’s aggressive stance, the ground reality reflects serious limitations within the Indian military. This incident reveals the true state of their preparedness.” (Archive)

An X account, Pak-Bangla Connect, shared the video using the hashtags “#PahalgamTerrorAttack #Pahalgam #FalseFlagOperation,” and wrote, “What are you afraid of? What is the army afraid of? Why are you running away like this? @adgpi generals ran away from straight questions!!!” (Archive)

NewsMeter found the claim false, as the video is old and unrelated.

We conducted a reverse image search of the video's keyframes and found it posted on X on March 25 by journalist Aman Singh Chhina, who covers defence and national security affairs.

In the post, Chhina questioned the army’s reluctance to engage with the media during a press conference, highlighting that Chief of Staff, Western Command, Lt Gen Mohit Wadhwa, and other senior officers had left after reading a statement on the Patiala Colonel case without taking any questions. While the DGP also read out a statement and left, Chhina pointed out that he had at least answered media queries in recent days.

Chhina, while responding to a query about the press conference from another user, took a dig at the Army, stating that it was a one-sided monologue.

Following this lead, we found the press conference by Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav, held jointly with the Army, which was live-streamed on March 25 on the Government of Punjab's YouTube channel. At the 3:27 mark of the video, the same questions from the viral clip can be heard as officers conclude the conference.

What is the Patiala Colonel case?

According to an NDTV report from March 25, Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath accused 12 Punjab Police personnel of assaulting him and his son over a parking dispute on the night of March 13-14 in Patiala. All 12 personnel were suspended. However, Colonel Bath filed a plea in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, requesting the transfer of the investigation to the CBI or another independent agency.

As reported by The Indian Express on April 12, following the Punjab and Haryana High Court's order, an SIT was formed, directing the Chandigarh Police DGP to investigate the case and complete the probe within four months.

Therefore, we conclude that the video is old and the claim that army generals walked out of a meeting over military action against Pakistan is false.